jokin

Yes X 3

Great pickup great trade. New problems in the OF. And now they have to move KC and someone else in the rotation.

. Bingo. You really have to break up the season for guys at this level. Especially 6' 10" college guys who suddenly flip the switch like the Big Unit 3.0 did in July. It's important to note that he really only pitched significant innings one year in college. He is still only 21 and he is now at 113 innings. It would be great to give him the chance to get up to the 150+ IP range with 5-6 starts in A+ ball. This would set him up with a good opportunity to pitch in 2 levels next year and increase his innings some more and then put himself in consideration for the rotation as early as mid-2016 at the tender age of 23.

Since the removal of the trees in CF, I have long thought the high right field wall and scoreboard is the second worst aesthetic in the park. I have long dreamed and proposed that the incomplete overhang be extended in both directions, ultimately extending from the break in center field to the foul pole. To further add to the new look, scrap the existing boring digital scoreboard- bring back an analog look!, and then recreate a version of the stone arch bridge as "supports" for the overhang, with portions of the scoreboard within each arch along with added ground level seating, something like RF in AT & T: http://imagesbyjosh.smugmug.com/Journalism/Blog-P/ATT-ParkRight-Field/868549214_apJLG-M.jpg but built with arches like the most iconic public works project in the state: http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I00003oc4yY3fKRw/s/750/mnqual265-75148.jpg

Great, thorough report Steve, on a very busy day. Just one minor quibble:

Great write-up, JC. Has to be a little bit of letdown for local fans after last season's success. What happened to JDs numbers in May- compared to last season? Perhaps there is more pitching help coming besides Burdi, in addition to the bats you mentioned? Is there a LH arm that has any projectability? And maybe Gordon gets hot in E-Town and gets an early call? But really, in the end result, it looks to me like there just aren't enough guys who project to climb much higher in the system.

Don't leave Jorge Polanco out of the mix, either.

The guy is gamer and an igniter. He appears to be leading by example and perhaps vocally, as well. Regarding his baserunning and baseball instincits, yesterday, on Hardy's low throw that got through the backup Birds 1st baseman, Dozier had less than a split second to see where the ball was and the backup fielders were, and make a decision on whether or not to take the extra base, when running it back in slow mo, you can see he processed the information in a flash and made it safely to second with just enough margin. On a good team he probably should be batting 6th, it's a shame that all of his HRs are of the solo variety- that's a function of Hicks and Florimon batting in front him at epically futile rates, but there's no doubt in my mind, he's still hands-down the MVP of the team thus far, and he's the leadoff guy until Buxton can ensconce him self for good. Now we've got another guy, in the OF this time, who also doesn't take being a major leaguer for granted in Sam Fuld, he obviously is no Dozier talent-wise, but now having 2 heady guys on the field willing to lay it all out might become contagious- maybe more guys would be willing to explore finding ways to win ballgames. Dozier is a true "Brian Baseball"- Twins-variation- and not the likes of those poser-types we used to be ashamed were on the roster- Lil' Nicky please stand up- Dozier is the real deal. Great post Stringer!

It seems like watching this video of Jose Bautista for a couple hours would help with the hip rotation thing immensely. They are similarly built, and Bautista took a few years to find his groove:

It's gotten to the point where you can't make up what's happening with the Yankees this month. Sporting an infield that featured the likes of Yangervis Solarte, Scott Sizemore (first major league start), Brian Roberts and then later, Dean Anna and Kelly Johnson (along with Derek Jeter), the Yankees continued their remarkable and unlikely run to the top of the AL East in April. Tonight, Solarte started a picture perfect 5-4-3 triple play in the 2nd inning in the Yankees convincing 10-2 win over Tampa Bay Rays Ace, David Price. Here's the video: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/20...inst-the-rays/ Oh yeah, Solarte has been moving up in the batting order lately, showing management's confidence that what's happening with Solarte may not be so fluky. He's batting 6th now, with veterans Roberts and Ichiro batting in the 8th and 9th spots. Solarte proved Girardi's hunch was correct, as he fell one triple short of the cycle, going 3-5 tonight. He is now batting .373 with a .1017 OPS

Solarte also went 2-4 in the game and played flawlessly in the field. Whatever it was that caused the Twins to let Solarte walk away, 13 teams negotiated to sign him in the offseason, now he's proving that he'll do whatever it takes to stay for good. On the Yankees of all teams.

There has been speculation that Ryan has had a couple back-pocket trading partners for Correia's services for some time. ARe you hearing anything along those lines, or are your comments solely based on Gibson's first outing? It's hard to believe they will cut Correia loose, unless they're pretty certain that Gibson is ready to step up, plus, that the Twins are also reasonably assured that the #5 spot will be ably manned by Deduno, et al, while we all await a Meyer and/or May call-up at some point in the summer.

Kennys Vargas. There are reports that he now is a Fielder-like 275 #s, which seems like a potential near-future red flag. Beyond a great play at first and the constant reports about his daily efforts at turning the Ft Myers BP batters boxes into his own personal launching pad, does Kennys pass the eye test as a an impact guy by 2015 in the Twins lineup? Escobar being out of options, it seems like Gardy is going to shoehorn him in to the utility role. Also, without Carroll, there really isn't any other current option behind Plouffe on the current roster at the Hot Corner.

Well-stated. As the old saying goes, when you're not moving ahead, you're falling behind. It's wearying to see miserable teams like the Marlins and White Sox match up with the Twins and appear to provide far more hope for the future. Other than Dozier establishing himself and Pinto giving a good September showing, there is little else that the Twins demonstrated that suggested a rebuilding team taking steps leading to anything that could be construed as "improvement".

10 Ks and 1 BB is not too shabby a ratio for May. Looks like Hicks finally woke out of his somnolent send-down when he heard who the Twins got in return for Morny!

The official box score has Pinto at 2/4 with 2 doubles. Now batting .303.

No need to thank us readers, you're reportage is first rate and the absolute best tonic on yet another miserable night at Target Field. Since you've witnessed a few of Sano's games since his arrival, are you picking up any significant differences in his approach at the plate of late? I noticed that his walks and strikeouts were nearly equal not that long ago, but now, he's no longer getting the walks, but the power and average are soaring with a few additional strikeouts. You noticed that he's now 4th on the team in HRs. I'll go one further....what do you think his chances are to catch the Eastern League leader in Home Runs? He now only trails the guy from the Phillies AA team, 15-6. I noticed you passed on asking the obvious questions to Jeff Smith in favor of a different approach. Good for you. Your reporting is reassuring in its clarity and exposition from Jeff Smith about May. This sounds like not even a bump in the road on his progression towards major league starter..... But, going back to the 500 lb. Dominican elephant in the room... don't you get the feeling that "everybody" in the Rock Cats braintrust from Smith on down, knows what extraordinary talent they have in Sano? And that they have a firm handle on what they have to accomplish, together, over the next 2 months? And hopefully, that Sano, in garnering their full developmental attention, as he is ever-quickly becoming acclimated to Connecticut, is feeding off that attention to detail and stays right on the fast track?

Thanks for your obviously hard work in putting this article together. It shows what has been frequently happening to Sano last year and this year already at the lower levels. Nice stat on the pitches per PA. It looks like he's going to get a lot of practice trying to hit for power going the opposite way, like Cabrera does. I guess what we have to ask about plate protection is, does he need more than having just Pinto batting behind him? Is Kennys Vargas also needed in the 5th spot in the order, as well?

Tremendous write-ups. Lots of meaty extra info to your reporting. Do you have season tickets? Just wait 'til these guys get acclimated. What are your impressions on Pinto? If he is able to tear up this league, I'm confident that Sano and Rosario will do just as well and likely better, in time. Morales has a good chance to be solid, too. You might want to correct this opening line in paragraphs 5: "Control issues came back in 3rd inning for Meyer..." Do you have a feel for May and his mechanics? Does it look like he has it in him to "flip the switch" eventually. A guy with his K ability, physical size and stuff should be given every possible chance to hit the bigs as the #3 starter.

Fine, the Pohlad's have done their civic duty and act of charity and then tried to profit from taking it all away. And this state doesn't have any Mark Cuban-types to come in and perform a much-needed round of civic duty and acts of charity- this market would wildly support a change in the staid, old, ridiculous, cry-poor philosophy of current management and ownership. BTW, Mark Cuban is still around, and he has made 3 attempts at buying a MLB team. The community would go positively ga-ga should Cuban take over controlling interest of the team. We already have 2 less-flashy, relatively new owners that have made a serious commitment to winning in Minnesota in Wilff and Leopold, why not a change for the Twins?

Does that description hold for purgatory, as well? Given how strongly this colorfully rich descriptor of baseball hell resembles Gardy's reaction to Correia's 8th inning meltdown- coupled with his contract extension predicament and your "threadbare" forecast of imminent SP implosion, I think he is, and will be, often in a similar place in 2013.