jokin

That's what's frustrating with his equivocating language. Mauer is a very oversized and athletic baseball player who excelled in 3 sports, but his milquetoast interviews fail to inspire. If he could just release and assert his "inner AJ" once in a while, he'd send a strong message to friend and foe alike.

I'd be tempted to attend more games, for one. Two, what's the Twins current record in one run games? Three, Twins run differential goes from -69 to +69+. Fourth, instead of a humiliatingly bad 32% QS ratio, how about one around or above 50%?

A SP ERA at least 2.50 below where it is now?

What an uninspired and non-compelling performance, is anyone still of the mindset that Ryan should be thinking about the Twins contending this year?

Uhh, because I think Carrol was already holding at 2nd??

Here's the entire quote: "Obviously, I was sort of prepared for a little collision, but he kind of darted in a little bit more than I thought," Mauer said. "But coming in hard -- that’s part of the game. ... I was trying to give him -- you know, obviously be in front of the plate -- but give him an area to slide, and he kind of went right toward my thigh....(he continued with more of what Christensen implied was whining)" What Mauer should've said if Leona Helmsley's Press Agent wasn't his media advisor: "Obviously, I was sort of prepared for a little collision, but he kind of darted in a little bit more than I thought," Mauer said. "But coming in hard -- that’s part of the game." End of story. There is no reason to say anything about the play being "unexpected", even if it was. No place in baseball for this passive-agressive stuff.

Joe Mauer must be employing Leona Helmsley's Public Relations Advisor.

Good, provacative post as always RB. I automatically agreed with you about baseball moving away from the bunt (ie, Paleo-Gardy-strategy for Span bunting on Friday night was preposterous). But then I thought: "With the (apparent) end of the steroid era, and the recent plethora of no-hitters, is the cycle turning back somewhat"?, and is the bunt returning, more as a weapon getting dusted off from the back shelf, than a "wasted" out? So, we have two opposite-moving trends, diminishing steroid use and increasing team use of sabremetric analysis. The numbers were surprising to me and still not fully conclusive. Here're the numbers compiled on bunts from 2002-2012 ('12 numbers prorated to full year projection): AVG BAB: 02-06- .3728 07-12- .3890 That's a 4.35% improvement from 02-06. 11-12- .3994 That's a 7.14% improvement from 02-06 12- .4064 AVG SH/YR: 02-06- 1630 07-12- 1584 That's down 2.8% from 02-06. 11-12- 1636 That's up .4% from 02-06. 12- 1605 AVG TBA/YR 02-06: 3226 07-12: 3055 11-12: 3167 That's down 1.8% from 02-06, but up 3.5% from 07-12. 12- 3125 So, SH, TBA and BAB are all trending back up from recent lows (presumably the "end" of the steroid era). Bunting batting average is moving up more quickly, presumably indicating both more successful SH attempts, but also better use of the bunt as a defense-challenging, base hit weapon. I'm all in favor of a guy like Plouffe, who obviously knows how to bunt, plopping one down on occasion when the IF is playing deep. It's great for the whole line-up against the bad 3B and 1B fielders like Dunn, Cabrera, Fielder, Reynolds, etc. It also doesn't hurt to break up a tough pitcher's rhythm. If you knew you could bat close to .400 whenever the IF is playing back and/or you have bad defensive IFers, or a tough pitcher, why wouldn't you use it as a weapon in your arsenal as often as possible (begs the question why more players don't practice bunting more often, is it a macho thing?)? The value of walks and BB% is prized in sabremetrics- it's a difficult skill that few master- short of the IBB route, yet the BB% rate for all players since 2002 is 7.95%- there are only 47 guys during this time that have a BB% rate over 10% (of those w/ at least 4000 PAs, 2002-12). If "a walk is as good as a hit", it seems like a bunt hit is better than a walk, and easier to obtain than a walk- at a much higher rate, when, as is often the case, the defense is "giving" you the base through either the defensive scheme and/or the horrible gloves at the key positions. It seems like an OBP-embracer like Joe Mauer, once he saw the math, would love enhancing his gaudy OBP with, say, 20 bunt hits a year, it sure beats those repeated 5-hop groundouts. ( I know, I know, I remember his last bunting fiasco a couple years ago...) As suspected, overall MLB OBP is trending down somewhat alarmingly- for 2011-12, the OBP is .320, versus a fairly steady trend of around .333 for the preceding years 2001-10. Those years are, in turn, a drop from the heavy steroid era of the 90s when OBP was .340 (1994-2000). Does this suggest that teams might be looking to improve their offense by employing more speed in the lineup now that "power" is diminishing? And will more teams look to a broadening of the player-by-player-sharpening of their overall bunting skills?

There are 4 MLB OFers with more than 120 PAs with an OBP over .400. The chances of Revere ever getting there are remote- for example, as hot as Revere is in June (probably never been hotter), his OBP for this month is .398. That being said, Revere has to keep improving on his bunting (he's definitely better than last year, though that's not saying much)- one attempt/game or even showing bunt a time or two per game will further maximize his OBP and BA as he can keep the applied pressure on the opposing IF and pitcher.

There is also a need for an extra bat, especially starting on Monday. Why not send Butera back down, keep the bat on the roster AND get the extra arm? With Mauer catching 3 days in a row, it appears he is reasonably healthy and the catching situation has returned to the way it was when the Twins broke camp. Which nightmare does Gardy wake up in a cold sweat from more often- not enough catchers or not enough pitchers? I know he never loses sleep about not having enough hitters.

Tim Atherton appears to be an unusual case. His stats are lights out impressive (K/BB 24/7 in 14+ innings and only 5 hits allowed). He is a converted position player and an Aussie, who at 22 is too old for the MWL. Do you know enough to have an opinion on if he has a steep learning curve potential and enough stuff to make the show in 2-3 years?

Based on Twins history, they won't do it, makes too much sense, and making sense is too risky for a club still in denial at the state of the club and still a club that always does things the same way as before. Blanton it is then(whoopee), the best we could hope for is they split the difference and go for a #3SP like Bedard...and Blanton (Sigh...)

Given this info as fairly valid- and given the evidence that the MWL is pitching around Sano, wouldn't it be better to have him working against pitchers pitching against him in A+ than around him in A?

That's quite a wide range, Sickel really went out on a limb with his final assessment/sarc. Still, this is at least one expert that suggests it isn't the breaking balls, the MWL pitchers are pitching way around him and to this point his drop in production is due to his lack of adjustments and approach at the plate. Good news, both at the plate and in the field, and fresh strong evidence to promote, not retain.

I noticed that. These look like public school "social promotions" and "non-EASL-language-readiness promotions". Disturbing, but typical for the Twins.

Levi Michael has proved your point about pitching as players move up and .240 isn't great- but the power and athleticism is highly intriguing ( I believe it was you who quoted an opposing MWL manager who said something to the effect that he's never seen anyone like Sano in this league)- meaning he should be given the team's full attention to improving him as quickly as possible in his areas in need of sharpening. Given that, I have more questions: What about optimum playing conditions with superior coaching and facilities (which will help his defense as well)? Is there a detailed hitting profile for Sano somewhere on how teams in the MWL have changed their approach to Sano? If so, how many breaking ball swinging strikes is he incurring- and- is he swinging at a lot of balls out of the strikezone because he has so little to actually swing at? I could be way off base, but why is it I feel like the subject of "plate discipline" has probably never been brought up with Sano at Beloit? How actually "good" or "better" is the average breaking ball in the MWL vs. the FSL? Wouldn't he get some decent coverage (ie, at least a couple better pitches to swing at per at bat) with Arcia and Morales batting behind him vs. what he has now behind him in Beloit?

Please send back plenty of Snapper reports early and often, as it might be Sano's last weekend in Beloit. ie: How does he do on the charging, barehand pick-up and throw, going to his left/right, short-hop, hot smash, relay to second, relay to home, relay to first from deep behind 3B, etc.

Not sure how much change occurred and Ryan wasn't directly involved with the club during the transition to the new park, but, the Pohlads did expand the payroll once the stadium was approved and it had been stated publicly that the GM had more wiggle room with the payroll if there were proposed moves available that could help put the Twins over the top. At this point in the new park's history, isn't it soon becoming incumbent on the owners to insure that years like 2011 are an anomaly? Sadly right now, the actions of the club speak louder than the words, it appears the payroll will continue shrinking for the next few years until all the high-priced contracts are fully shed- with Willingham-like and Carrol-like deals acting as transitional Band-Aids, rather than sincere reloading efforts.

Sadly, that sounds about right, the Tigers are due for a run here as they just got Jackson back and their team power numbers are climbing rapidly, but I disagree- 2-5 won't be shocking, just a strong close for a team "out there battling" going into the break.

Agreed, but in this case, "tough" is a relative term for a team performing like the Twins, who have a -67 run differential. Even with their recent awakening from the early-season slumbers, they are still the worst team in the AL, playing at a .407 pace. They are 9th in the AL in OPS and are in last place in AL pitching stats in virtually every category (except in BB, where they are in first place in fewest walks allowed--- a hearty hoo-yah to pitch-to-contact!).

Part of the problem lies with the Twins relationship with Red Wings- this is a "caught between a rock and a hard place" scenario. The Red Wings business model values wins over development, while the Twins don't have enough prospects to keep Rochester consistently competitive. The Wings can't be happy with the volumetric free agent signings the last two years, followed by immediate emergency depletions and then having the likes of Nishi dumped on them for two years. Likewise, they can't be happy with the alternative of A/AA level prospects filling out a roster, even if they project higher than those currently on the AAA roster.

The Twins have a wealth of resources in terms of coaches and facilities in Ft. Meyers, including their ST headquarters. Rosario and Sano are Caribbean ballplayers who would thrive in the warmer weather, culture and environment of South Florida versus Backwater Beloit, WI. Why would they think twice about moving both along after the All-Star game? What an awesome potential 1-5 in Miracle batting order!: Danny Santana/Eddie Rosario/Miguel Sano/Oswaldo Arcia/Angel Morales. This would give Sano some coverage behind him and giving Sano something to hit in each at bat besides waste pitches and off-speed breaking balls as apparently is happening now. Unites, at least temporarily, 5 of the top Twins positional prospects, 4 of the top 10. Seth, please tell me why this isn't a winning scenario?

Like Chris Hermann moving up to Rochester?

1) Scott Baker- Probably less than 50-50 that Baker comes back: 1)healthy, 2)as effective previously when healthy AND 3) still in a Twins uniform. 2) Kyle Gibson- Probably comes back healthy but it usually takes at least 1.5 years of playing to begin to return to previous level of effectiveness. 3) Scott Diamond- Compelling story about his success, but need more than 7 starts to demonstrate proven level of success. 4) PJ Walters- Less compelling story about his success. 5) Liam Hendricks- Non-compelling story about his success. He had an ERA of 9.00 on his first tour, AAA numbers outstanding, he'll figure it out sooner or later. 6) The Sanos- Wish there were two. Still learning to hit a breaking ball and field a ground ball. By 2015 when he's 22, we'll see how different his numbers are from Hicks. 7) Byron Buxton- Tabula rasa. 8) Your prediction is possible but maybe not desirable if the Twins repeat last year's Buyer?/Seller? fiasco. It is important to note that the easier part of the schedule ends this weekend. Counting the next two series, the combined records of the Twins opposition since May 16 is 187-233, that's playing at a .445 clip. Upcoming, the records of the teams the Twins play into the ASB is 184-173, a more respectable .515 rate.