Thrylos

There is something really big not mentioned here... And this is how Schafer is doing with the stick in 2014. Jordan Schafer is hitting .163/.256/.213 for 2014. Florimon got ousted with a similar OPS, Hicks was sent down and blacklisted with better results. Now they go out and get Schafer? Does not make much sense to me.

About his AAA ERA numbers: His PCL ERA is totally irrelevant either way. Feel free to check his IL ERA (and the rest.)

that is not this clear. Here are some WHIP normalized numbers: 2014 Home 1.115 WHIP, .248 BABIP, normalized WHIP: 1.304 Away 1.319 WHIP, .276 BABIP, normalized WHIP: 1.386 2013 Home 1.265 WHIP, .280 BABIP, normalized WHIP: 1.310 Away 1.279 WHIP, .298 BABIP, normalized WHIP: 1.245 2013 Home 1.054 WHIP, .274 BABIP, normalized WHIP: 1.116 Away 1.522 WHIP, .352 BABIP, normalized WHIP: 1.254 Might be a slight edge at home, but I think that the average league pitcher (or the league as a whole) has a slight edge at home too (here are the league splits for 2014) So not sure that he is much of Oakland product. He is much better than Albers or (the good) Diamond (fastball velocity similarities aside; remember he was traded for Gio Gonzalez at some point) for 3 reasons: - his change - his command and control - his cutter (and this is not much mentioned) which is a pitch with a lot of promise (and effective) and somewhat a work in progress for him. I think that he would round up the Twins' staff as a fifth starter better than the likes of Correia. But that is what he is: a bottom of the rotation starter/long man. Excellent deal for the Twins.

It is not a secret: the Minnesota Twins biggest problem the last few woeful seasons has been the lack of a reliable rotation. While a lot of fans are looking at 2015 or 2016, when Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton "come of age", as the potential contending point for the Twins, the dirty secret is that there are not, other than Alex Meyer and potentially Kyle Gibson, any sure bets for top of the rotation pitchers in the system above A-level, which almost certainly would guarantee mediocrity at best through the middle of this decade. Download attachment: Volquez_Edison_Followthru_US_720.jpg This offseason, the Twins have an opportunity to remedy this via free agency and be competitive in 2014. In order to do so, the Twins need to sign at least three pitchers better than Kevin Correia, who is in his last contract year and who can be a place holder for Alex Meyer and Kyle Gibson. Who should those three new pitchers be? What would it take to sign them? Remember, we are looking not only for 2014, but we are looking beyond. And we are looking for numbers one, two and three in the Twins' rotation, allowing Gibson to be number four and Correia number five. This would result in a competitive rotation. Potentially one of these positions could come internally: Alex Meyer might be one out of spring training; I have not given up on Vance Worley because of an awful injury-, out-of-shapeness and (BABIP-induced) bad luck, age 25 season. And nobody knows whether Samuel Deduno will take the next step. Originally posted at The Tenth Inning Stretch What characteristics should those free agents should have? If you look at the measurable characteristics the top pitchers have, two jump out right away, and these 2 happen to be the exact ones the Twins' rotation has been lacking: a. Hard throwing. The average Fastball velocity in MLB is 92 mph, including relievers. b. Missing bats. Average K/9 is around 7 in the majors, so we are looking for top of the rotation players with K/9 above 8. Since PitchF/X was introduced allowing the measurement of pitch velocities, only two Minnesota Twins starting pitchers,, both left-handed, satisfied both these criteria: Johan Santana (2004, 2005, 2006) and Fransisco Liriano (2005, 2006, 2010). And because of the long-term vision (we are looking for players who can get 3+1 or 4+1 contacts and would be with the team for the biggest part of the decade after Sano and Buxton come of age) the Twins need to look at pitchers who would at most be 31 years old in 2014, so they do not pay for a pitcher's declining seasons. One can argue that an older pitcher could be signed to a one or two-year contract as a place holder for someone like Kohl Stewart. This is a valid argument but at this point it does not guarantee competitiveness, since Stewart is not a sure bet now. Here are the 3 criteria (all measurable) the Twins should look for in a free agent: a. Average FB velocity >= 92 mph b. K/9 >= 8 c. Age in 2014 season =< 31 Here is a list of all 2014 free agent starting pitchers, from MLB trade rumors, alphabetically and with 2014 season ages in parenthesis: Alfredo Aceves (31) Bronson Arroyo (37) Scott Baker (32) Erik Bedard (35) Travis Blackley (31) A.J. Burnett (37) Chris Capuano (35) Chris Carpenter (39) Bruce Chen (37) Bartolo Colon (41) Scott Feldman (30) Gavin Floyd (31) Jeff Francis (33) Freddy Garcia (37) Jon Garland (34) Matt Garza (30) Chad Gaudin (31) Roy Halladay (37) Jason Hammel (31) Aaron Harang (36) Dan Haren (33) Roberto Hernandez (33) Tim Hudson (38) Phil Hughes (28) Ubaldo Jimenez (30) Josh Johnson (30) Jair Jurrjens (28) Jeff Karstens (31) Scott Kazmir (30) Hiroki Kuroda (39) John Lannan (29) Wade LeBlanc (29) Jon Lester (30) Colby Lewis (34) Ted Lilly (38) Paul Maholm (32) Shaun Marcum (32) Jason Marquis (35) Daisuke Matsuzaka (33) James McDonald (29) Randy Messenger (32) Ricky Nolasco (31) Sean O'Sullivan (26) Roy Oswalt (35) Mike Pelfrey (30) Greg Reynolds (28) Clayton Richard (30) Ervin Santana (31) Johan Santana (34) Joe Saunders (33) Kevin Slowey (30) Masahiro Tanaka (25) Jason Vargas (31) Ryan Vogelsong (36) We trim the list by age and list K/9 and average FB velocity for both 2012 and 2013. Then we disqualify pitchers who (because we are looking mostly for "sure bets") are projects and bargains and who might be a fit for one of these positions, but are out of the scope of this exercise. These pitchers: a. pitched less than 50 innings due to injury in 2013 b. pitched mostly in the pen in 2013 c. pitched mostly in minor or foreign leagues in 2013 We have this list, with K/9 and FB velocity fitting the criteria indicated in green, in yellow if it fitting when rounded up): http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5542/10710062884_1fb93bcac8_o.jpg The "A" list (at least two pitchers should be from this list) : Matt Garza, RHP, 30. Difficult to see a Garza reunion with Ron Gardenhire and Rick Anderson still on the Twins' staff. Documented personality conflicts when with the Twins Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP, 30. Received a qualifying offer, which means the Twins would have to surrender their second round pick to sign him. Price will be high because of monster second half. Josh Johnson, RHP, 30. No qualifying offers. Health and performance consideration (if one looks at W-L and ERA, but solid xFIP and peripherals) will drop the price Scott Kazmir, LHP, 30. The only lefty in the list. No qualifying offer. Great year suggests that recovered from injury nicely Edinson Volquez, RHP, 30 . No qualifying offer. Very quietly made it to the list. A sleeper, potentially low cost signing The "B" list (potentially one pitcher should be from this list, but there are questions) : Phil Hughes (28) He is intriguing; close with the K/9. Still in early prime. Can be the one from this group to target Jon Lester (30) Will likely stay with the Red Sox. Expensive. Lots of people think of him as an "A list" pitcher but is not. Mike Pelfrey (30) Interesting to see him in the list, but his K/9 is not in the ball park. Can he get his K/9 up? Great fit in the Twins' club house. Should the Twins take another flier with Pelfrey another year away from TJ surgery? Ervin Santana (31) Expensive. Lots of people think of him as an "A list" pitcher but is not. Received a qualifying offer. Stay away for the money. More expensive that all the pitchers in the A list, other than Jimenez. The rest: Gaudin was a reliever in 2012 when he met the criteria. Nolasco and Vargas are thought to belong in the "A list" potentially. They do not. Who are the three starting pitchers the Minnesota Twins should target in 2013 in order to be competitive in 2014 and beyond? They are: Josh Johnson Scott Kazmir Edinson Volquez Can they sign all three? The short answer is "yes", but I will examine the Twins' budget in another post... Click here to view the article

This is the second of the three 2013 Minnesota Twins Spring Training Guides. The first one was a guide on the logistics of how to get there and where to stay etc., including some ways to get there as inexpensively as possible, if that is a consideration. The next guide will be about food. This one is about the reason people go to Fort Myers: Spring Training baseball. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The Twins' Spring Training Complex: Before we get into your options, it helps to have a big picture view of the Lee County Sports Complex where the Twins are based. Here is a satellite image (all images are screenshots from Bing Maps) : http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7062/6870615187_617fab61b1_b.jpg Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch The complex is accessible via the Miracle on 34th St, either from Ben C Pratt Pkwy or from Plantation Rd. The best was to go is via the Parkway, especially if there is traffic. Miracle on 34th St divides the Twins' part of the complex from the four county softball field. Hammond Stadium, the site of the Twins Spring Training home games and the home of the Fort Myers Miracle (the Twins' high A, Florida State League affiliate) is on the Northeast corner of the Complex. Those parallel lines in the parking lot that can fit about 2000 cars. The stadium seats about 8000 people, so parking can be tight. In addition to Hammond Stadium, there are four full size practice fields and two infield practice fields. You can find Twins' major and minor league players working out in those fields throughout the day, so it might make sense to explore the whole complex or even catch a (free, other than parking) minor league game or two. Some hotels offer free shuttle service to the complex, so make sure you explore this option if it is available. During Twins' home games you have to pay for parking, however when the Twins are away, you can come into the complex and park for free and watch the Twins' minor leagues. (You can do that on game days in the morning, as well.) The minor leaguers are using the three full fields further away from the Ballpark and the infield right next to the clubhouse (the tin building). The practice field next to the ballpark is exclusively used by the MLB team. Two different camps take place there (the MLB and MiLB camp) but there is not a "dividing line" that folks who are cut from the big camp have to cross to get "down to the minor league" camp. As you can see, all the fields are next to each other. Often, non-travelling major leaguers (I saw Alexi Casilla and Jamey Carroll do that last season) play in minor league games. So do rehabbing major leaguers. The best way to watch the minor leaguers is to drive and park close to the clubhouse (there are not too many cars on non-game days, about as many as they are in the picture) and go between the three large fields. Usually AAA plays on the Northwest-most field and AA next to it. With a little bit of imagination, one can sit between both fields and watch two games. There are metal bleachers in the area. Bathrooms and a water fountain are in the south of the clubhouse building. Bringing water is a must here because there are no concessions. A lot of lower level or non-playing minor leaguers are around and in the stands watching the AAA and AA games. Actually pitchers are relegated to radar charting duty in tables in the common area behind the home plates and the fence, and standing around there is a good place to look at the radar readings. You can also find Twin Cities sports celebrities in the stands: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7060/6881930842_2aaba33f03_o.jpg The "dugouts" and "bullpens" are just fenced in areas so you can get a great look of the Twins' minor leaguers. All minor league games are free. The new Twins' lease will provide for a dorm to be build in the area. I am not certain where it will be, but likely South of the fields and just west of the county softball fields. Hammond Stadium: Hammond Stadium (and the Lee County Complex) was officially opened in the Spring of 1991, the year of the Twins' last World Championship. It is the home of Fort Myers Miracle, a franchise that has Jimmy Buffett and Bill Murray as part-owners. It has been recently renovated and is one of the largest ballparks in the Florida State League, sitting up to 8500 people. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7197/6870615335_f8962df2e6_z.jpg As with most minor league stadiums, most seating is on the infield between the two dugouts. Hammonds Stadium has a nose bleed 2xx level as well and a small grassy field in short right field for fans to sit picnic style. Spring training tickets cost from $45 to $10 or so, depending on the opponent and the seating. As far as tickets go, there are ticket outlets just outside the park. You can preorder tickets over the web, or you can frequently obtain them from locals in the parking lot who are not interesting in attending the game. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7053/6873268706_ed1c6493c8_b.jpg One thing that you MUST note: bottled water in unopened containers is permitted in the stadium, as are bags up to 16x16x8 (think reusable grocery bags), so please take advantage of that. That said, the stadium has one of the best selections of beers, including more than 20 mainstream, import and microbrew beers and ales. The best variety of beer, including beer sold only for Twins' and Miracle's games, is at the bar at the far left (third base) end of the outside concourse, right before the bullpen They only sell Pepsi products as far as soft drinks go. I will have a food guide within a week, but I have to mention that there is an interesting variety of food, including pizza, sweet potato fries, fish tacos, deep fried nachos on a stick, and two artery clogging specialties: the Carolina Dog, a hot dog topped with pulled pork, baked beans and coleslaw and the Richard Simmons burger a behemoth featuring a 1/4 lb burger, a 1/4 lb chicken, a 1/4 lb brat, held together by 3 slices of cheese and six strips of bacon and contains more calories that the average developing world person eats in a week. There is an annual concession guide for the stadium that yet has to be published. Here is the seating guide from the Miracle web site. Also, this is a great article about Hammonds Stadium with a lot of detail about the ballpark. Also, hereis a must see panoramic view of the seating area from last year's spring training. The Twins' dugout is on the third base side and the bullpen on the end of the bleachers in short left. The new lease provides for major renovations to the ballpark including a catwalk area at the outfield. Not sure when this will start and whether it will be around for the 2013 Spring Training. Other things: Last but not least, the Twins do not play home games every day. So what to do in an off day? I would chose from one of the following: either drive to the complex trying to catch minor leaguers (my favorite choice) and non-traveling major leaguers in action, or drive to watch the Twins in an away game. Here is a map of Florida that shows all the Grapefruit League home team locations: http://farm8.staticf...450be9574_b.jpg The Rays play their home games about half an hour away and the Pirates and Orioles about an hour away or so. The Red Sox play in Fort Myers. Those are the most convenient ball parks to visit. Next: The Food Guide. Click here to view the article

The major priority of the Minnesota Twins' General Manager, Terry Ryan, has been to re-build a starting rotation that has been at the bottom of the major leagues in pretty much every statistical category in 2013. There is general agreement that the rotation was pretty much a mess in 2013 and needed fixing. There is also the general impression that the Twins' pen was the strength of the team and it is better left alone. However, in 2013 the Twins' pen ranked: 17th out of 30 MLB teams as far as ERA goes 17th out of 30 MLB teams as far as FIP goes 17th out of 30 MLB teams as far as SIERA goes 8th out of 30 MLB teams as far as WHIP goes 19th out of 30 MLB teams as far as K% goes In other words, the Twins' pen which, compared to the Twins' rotation, seemed great, when compared to the rest of the major league pens is average in a lot of ways. Busted myth number one: The Twins' pen was not great in 2013 and, while it might have been a bright point in 2013 compared to the rest of the team, it does not cut the mustard compared to the rest of league. There is a lot of room for improvement and I suspect Terry Ryan will address it before spring training, likely helping the Twins be competitive in 2014. Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch After the recent additions of new and returning starting pitchers there have been arguments that the Twins have too many starting pitchers and there is a logjam of pitchers on the Twins' roster. I thought it might be a good time to take a breath and look at what the Twins have on their 40-man roster as far as pitching goes and see whether this argument is true or not. Here is the Twins' forty man roster broken down in to, groups alphabetically (players in bold are out of options): Group A: Starting pitchers with no options signed to sizeable contracts the last two seasons. Kevin Correia (RHSP) Phil Hughes (RHSP) Rick Nolasco (RHSP) Mike Pelfrey (RHSP) Group B: Relief pitchers with no options signed to sizeable contracts the last two seasons or offered arbitration. Jared Burton (RHRP) Brian Duensing (LHSP/RP) Glen Perkins (LHRP) Anthony Swarzak (RHSP/RP) Group C: Starting pitchers with no options and small contracts who have played in the majors for more than three seasons. Sam Deduno (RHSP) Scott Diamond (LHSP) Vance Worley (RHSP) Group D: Starting and relief pitchers with options and small contracts who have played in the majors for at least one season. Andrew Albers (LHSP) Casey Fien (RHRP) Kyle Gibson (RHSP) Kris Johnson (LHSP) Ryan Pressly (RHRP) Caleb Thielbar (LHRP) Michael Tonkin (RHRP) Group E: Starting and relief pitchers with options and small contracts who have never played in the majors. Logan Darnell (LHSP) Edgar Ibarra (LHRP) Trevor May (RHSP) Broken down this way, the perceived logjam of Twins' staring pitchers becomes less of a logjam: The Twins usually have a 12 man pitching staff. They currently have 4 starters and 4 relievers (groups A and who are pretty much guaranteed a job. This opens 4 more positions, one in the rotation and three in the pen. If you assume the Twins value all pitchers in Group C who are out of options, they have the space to find them all a major league job, as well as allow another pitcher, likely from Group D or potentially outside the organization, to gain a rotation or bullpen position. The others will provide depth in AAA and be available in case of emergency or potentially be offered in trades to fill additional Twins' needs, like position players. Busted myth number two: There is no pitching logjam on the Twins' roster. In other words, the Twins do have a lot of pitching depth in their 40-man roster, but they are not in a logjam situation where they cannot accommodate all their pitchers without options on the 25 man roster. And this assumes Samuel Deduno who is recuperating from double (labrum and rotation cuff) shoulder surgery is available to start the season. While it is too early to name names to complete the rotation and the pen, this early assessment shows the Twins do not have any sort of a pitching logjam and also have plenty of options. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7058/6927661912_db27f32dcc_z.jpg Click here to view the article

Download attachment: hyperlink.jpg Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- Here is this week's installment: When Nick Blackburn was put on waivers this week, there was some confusion about that meant. Blackburn and Nishoka did not get Designated For Assignment, they got outrighted. There are four types of waivers in baseball, all explained really well here (this is a must read and bookmark link) :[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Trade Waivers, Waivers for the purpose of granting a player his unconditional release (DFA), Outright Waivers and Option Waivers. The first and last kind are revocable, while the other 2 are irrevocable.The difference between DFA and Ouright waivers is that if a veteran (Blackburn is that and Nishioka is not) refuses, in both cases he becomes a free agent, but in a DFA situation the team in on the hook for his contract while in Outright Waivers, if he refuses assignment he loses what is owed to him. You can find all the transactions by the Twins' Minor League affiliates last week here. Tom Powers of the Pioneer Press is on a personal quest to find the scout who gave the thumbs up to the Twins to sign Tsuyoshi Nishioka. He also proposed some resolution, but leaves out door number three, which is exactly what the Twins are doing right now: Having discussions with Japanese teams to assume his contract. This is a great interview of Liam Hendriks by Minor League Ball's John Sickels. Hendriks admits that he has changed his delivery mechanics "several times this season", talks about his pitches and ponders why he has been so effective in AAA and not quite so much in the Majors, yet. Miguel Sano was the first draft pick in the Dominican Winter Leagues. He will play for his hometown Esrellas Orientales. The wife of a Twins' player wrote a guest blog here and she keeps her own full time blog here. Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah was defeated in a primary vote (link to a Dave St. Peter tweet). Not certain what that means for the future of the Twins there, since the county approved improvements in the Twins' Spring Training facilities and Hammond Stadium, which made the Twins renew their lease for 30 more years. Not sure whether papers were signed (I suspect so) but this is an intereasting story line to follow... And apparently this article in the Fort Myers paper, indicates that indeed there might be issues because the winner in the primary is lobbying against baseball spending and breaking the lease. Picture day for the Twins a week ago and a Matt Capps sighting. Top row to the left number 55. He looks like he gained a few because of the inactivity. Speaking of rehabing (or not) Twins' pitchers on the DL, Carl Pavano's fastball is sitting at mid 80s, which is not very good for the Twins' prospects to get something for him this August or for his prospects to continue playing baseball next season. Here is an interesting article about the Twins' A level affiliate Beloit Snappers' pitching coach Gary Lukas. Meanwhile, Beloit is the worst Twins' affiliate as far as attendance goes. Another killer article by Tyler Mason on food and major league vs the minors. Here is an interesting article that, among other things, lists what the Twins did when they moved from an air-conditioned environment to Target Field to battle hot and humid days. With the Twins looking more and more likely to get another high pick in the 2013 MLB draft, apparently, according to Baseball America the draft is pretty deep in high school Left Hand Pitchers, which is always desirable. One particular Twins' outfielder would not only be happy to move to the infield, it is where he played mostly before he became a pro. Also he was exclusively an infielder his first professional season. It seems that the Twins are looking for help at high places. This is great work looking at Twins contracts, projected payrolls, Options of minor league players, rule 5 draft exposure and related topics. Looks like Ron Gardenhire found his next shortstop. If you wonder what some major leaguers do during rain delays, check this out. And a certain Twins' player has been claiming falsely that he was his High School's mascot. And, no, it was not Drew Butera who was a professional clown for a while. Twins' product of the week is the Minnesota Twins Therma Base Hoodiehttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B007V9B8CC. Because Winter Is Cominghttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B007HJ84ZKThe parting shot today brings us to happier times in the Twins' land. Spring training. Last week of March. The team is ready to get up North hopeful for a new season with the slate wiped clean. Tabula Rasa. Rick Anderson is pitching batting practice to a group of Twins' infielders and catchers not in that days' lineup and he is using what it looks like a four-seamer, and not his signature two-seamer, grip. Happy days. This has been a long season. Spring training 2013 is (almost) around the corner. Hope Springs Eternal. Just about 190 days left until Spring Training 2013. Go Twins! Click here to view the article

Originally published at The Tenth Innning Stretch ----- This is the first version of the 'who is hot in the Twins' minors' series for 2012. I have been doing this for a few years now and 3 weeks into the 2012 season, there are enough IPs and PAs and is about time I get the first version of 2012 out. I will be updating those in pretty much monthly basis. Download attachment: 7098789651_02fb66b359_z.jpg About a month into the minor league seasons now, it is not surprising to confirm that the Twins have a nice pitching depth in all levels of their minors (including LHP, which has been one of the organizational weaknesses in recent seasons. It is nice to see a balance between leftie and righty arms, even though it is early in the season) There are several pitchers in Rochester who might jump in and contribute with the big team, as necessary. The bats are a bit cool this time of the year, but it is nice to see that the Twins' top prospects are pretty hot. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Speaking on top prospects, Angel Morales after a lost 2011, is quickly putting himself back to the top prospect list. Also nice, as far as the big club goes, is the fact that Brian Dozier and Mike Hollimon are hot in Rochester, in case the Twins need middle infield help (the only position that is not backed up well in the major league club). Here is the list, going from AAA to A. The clubs represented are AAA Rochester Red Wings, International League, AA New Britain Rock Cats, Eastern League, A+ Fort Myers Miracle, Florida State League, A Beloit Snappers, Midwest League: Catchers: none Infielders: Brian Dozier (RHB, 25 AAA) .310/.375/.466 1 HR, 6 RBI, 64 PA Michael Hollimon (SHB, 30, AAA) .256/.341/.487 2 HR, 2 RBI, 44 PA Deibinson Romero (RHB, 25, AA) .293/.359/.552 3 HR, 13 RBI, 64 PA Miguel Sano (RHB, 19, A) .314/.453/.765 6 HR, 18 RBI, 64 PA Eddie Rosario (LHB, 20, A) .296/.397/.426 1 HR, 11 RBI, 6 SB, 63 PA Outfielders: Angel Morales (RHB, 22, A+) .382/.426/.509 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 SB, 62 PA Lance Ray (LHB, 22, A+) .256/.333/.512 2 HR, 10 RBI, 51 PA Aaron Hicks (SHB, 22, AA) .255/.338/.491 3 HR, 10 RBI, 65 PA Evan Bigley (RHB, 25, AA) .295/.343/.459 1 HR, 10 RBI, 67 PA 1st basemen/DH: Chris Colabello (RHB, 28, AA) .333/.415/.711 4 HR, 12 RBI, 54 PA RH Starters: Cole DeVries (27, AAA) 2.87 ERA, 0.957 WHIP, 8.62 K/9, 3.75 K/BB Samuel Deduno (28, AAA) 3.94 ERA, 1.250 WHIP, 7.31 K/9, 2.17 K/BB PJ Walters (27, AAA) 3.38 ERA, 1.266 WHIP, 6.33 K/9, 7 K/BB Steve Hirschfeld (26, AA) 1.06 ERA, 0.941 WHIP, 7.94 K/9, 3.75 K/BB BJ Hermsen (22, A+) 0.50 ERA, 0.722 WHIP, 5.0 K/9, 2.5 K/BB LH Starters: Scott Diamond (25, AAA) 1.47 ERA, 1.200 WHIP, 6.87 K/9, 2.80 K/BB Luke French (26, AA) 1.52 ERA, 0.930 WHIP, 5.32 K/9, 1.17 K/BB Logan Darnell (23, AA) 2.81 ERA, 1.188 WHIP, 5.63 K/9, 1.67 K/BB Andrew Albers (26, AA) 5.54 ERA. 1.231 WHIP, 6.23 K/0, inf K/BB Jason Wheeler (21. A) 2.40 ERA, 1.267 WHIP, 6 K/9, 2 K/BB RH Relievers: Casey Fien (28, AAA) 1.80 ERA, 1.100 WHIP, 8.10 K/9, 9 K/BB Jeff Manship (27, AAA) 0.82 ERA, 1.273 WHIP, 8.18 K/9, 2.5 K/BB Deolis Guerra (23,AA) 0.84 ERA, 0.469 WHIP, 8.44 K/9, 10 K/BB Dan Turpen (25, AA) 2.89 ERA, 0.857 WHIP, 8.68 K/9, inf K/BB John Garcia (25, A+) 2.53 ERA, 1.031 WHIP, 6.75 K/9, 2.67 K/BB AJ Achter (23, A) 0.87 ERA, 0.677 WHIP, 12.19 K/9, 4.67 K/BB Michael Tonkin (22, A) 0.96 ERA, 0.964 WHIP, 9.64 K/9, 5 K/BB LH Relievers: Tyler Robertson (24, AAA) 4.70 ERA, 0.783 WHIP, 11.74 K/9, 5 K/BB Caleb Thielbar (25, A+) 0.00 ERA, 0.545 WHIP, 11.05 K/9, 9 K/BB Jose Gonzalez (22, A+) 3.86 ERA, 0.857 WHIP, 9 K/9, 3.5 K/BB Edgar Ibarra (23, A+) 0.90 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 5.40 K/9, 6 K/BB Corey Williams (21, A) 3.86 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 9 K/9, 7 K/BB Ryan O'Rourke (24, A) 1.23 ERA, 0.818 WHIP, 8.59 K/9, 3.5 K/BB Matthew Tomshaw (23, A) 4.15 ERA, 1.269 WHIP, 10.38 K/9, 10 K/BB Click here to view the article

Last week, I discussed the reasons why the Minnesota Twins should select Sean Manaea with their first round and fourth overall pick. This week I am presenting, with brief profiles, potential second to fifth round picks for the Twins. The Twins do not have compensatory picks this season. Round 2, (43 overall): Hunter Dozier, SS, Stephen F. Austin State Will history repeat itself and have the Twins will select another college SS (and their second Dozier) in the high draft rounds, though their previous selections have not moved with the speed the they had hoped? We shall see, but Hunter Dozier is unlike previous college shortstops they have selected. He is Cal Ripken-sized (6-4, 220) with a lot of pop. He bats right handed. He is among the top three college sluggers with seventeen homers, is hitting .394 and has 12 SBs. His arm is very strong and he has good hands. Range is an issue (and this, with his size, makes some think that he projects as a 3B at the next level) but likely very workable at that next level. I think he has the tools to stick at short and this is a huge position of need in the Twins' organization. He was named Southland conference player of the year and hitter of the year. His up to date 2013 stats are here. http://www.collegebaseballtoday.com/files/2012/03/SFA-HunterDozierDef.jpg ~~~ Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ~~~ Round 3, (78 overall) Andrew Knapp, C, Berkley Catcher is another position of need in the Twins' organization, with no clear replacement for Joe Mauer down the line, though Josmil Pinto has potential. Knapp is not mentioned as one of the top catchers on the draft (that would be a trifecta of high school kids) but he might as well be. He calls an excellent game (he goes to Berkley for a reason) and has a strong bat that projects, but he will require a bit of work with his receiving skills and foot work. He hits left-handed and is 6'1" and weighs about 200 lbs. He is currently a line drive and doubles machine who likes to use the whole field (sound like another Twins' catcher?) but projects to have home run power. He can run a bit, too. His Dad was a catcher at Berkley. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/cal/sports/m-basebl/auto_action/8646904.jpeg Round 4 (110 overall) Edwin Diaz, SS, Ladislau Martinez Otero HS, Puerto Rico. From Jose Morales to Eddie Rosario to Jose Berrios, the Twins have been scouting and drafting high school kids from Puerto Rico in the early rounds and they will likely do it again this season. Diaz is close to the top of the 2013 draft class in Puerto Rico. He is a tall (6'2", 180#) kid who is still growing. Diaz is a lot like Pedro Florimon, but a bit more advanced than Floriman was at this stage of his career. He is good with the bat, hits line drives to all fields. Right handed. Slick fielder. I think he will be one of the first Puerto Ricans on the board. The 2013 draft class is not that great there. http://www.perfectgame.org/images/profilepics/1302-8-Purple-5.jpg Round 5 (140 overall) DJ Snelten, LHP, Minnesota The Twins usually make a point of selecting several players from the University of Minnesota. The ones that they have selected in the high rounds (the jury is still out for players like AJ Pettersen who were selected in lower rounds) have not worked out, other than a certain LHP; I think they'll take another. He is the lesser known of the two best U of M starters and somewhat in the shadow of Tom Windle, but Snelton might be the better pitcher. He is 6'7" and 230 lbs. He has a plus 91-93 mph fastball that peaks at 95 with great command, control, movement and positioning; his curve and change-up are works in progress but improving. He mostly pitched out of the pen his first 2 seasons. He could be a dominant reliever if his secondary offerings do not improve. http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/nOienINN_Nh5vBBxul6wuw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD0zNjA7cT04NTt3PTUxMg--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_US/Sports/AP_General/201305232220804293575-p2.jpg Here are highlights of his complete game one hitter this season against Ohio State (you can read about it here ) : (EDIT: I cannot embedded here, please go to the original post if you would like to see the video) Next: Rounds 6-12. As a reminder, you can find all 2013 MLB draft related posts the Tenth Inning Stretch. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: 8606001039_53154c362b_z.jpg For a few years now, I have been doing a feature, pretty much on a monthly basis, which was called "Who is hot in the Minesota Twins' minors" (you can see last seasons' versions here.) This included a list of the best players in the Twins' system, based on cumulative performance year to date, broken down by position. I am giving it a new twist this year: I am listing the best team of 25 players in the Twins' organization, by position based on cumulative performance. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] This is listed as a 25-man roster squad with starters, bench, rotation and a pen. No batting order. Ages, handedness and team are listed along with the stats. This is the first one and I will be doing these every 3-4 weeks. ~~~ Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ~~~ This first version of the Twins' top 25 in the minors is led by players from the Fort Myers Miracle and Cedar Rapids Kernels, teams that are dominating their leagues. There is also representation from the Rochester Red Wings and New Britain Rock Cats squads. This is from a small sample size and the results can be skewed, especially on the pitching side. And of course there are some surprises. The 2013 Twins minor leagues best 25 are: Starters: C - Josmil Pinto (RHB, 24, AA) : .294/.400/.544, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 80 PA 1B - Chris Colabello (RHB, 29 AAA) : .328/.377/.642, 6 HR, 14 RBI, 77 PA 2B - Eddie Rosario (SHB, 21, A+) : .338/.368/.500, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 1 SB, 87 PA 3B - Miguel Sano (RHB, 20, A+) : .384/.439/.740, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 1 SB, 82 PA SS - AJ Petersen (RHB, 24, A+) : .345/.418/.448, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 2 SB, 68 PA OF - Byron Buxton (RHB, 19, A) : .404/.514/.614, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 7 SB, 70 PA OF - Clete Thomas (LHB, 29, AAA): .347/.448/.571, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 2 SB, 58 PA OF - Danny Ortiz (LHB, 23, AA): .313/.356/.582, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 73 PA DH - Mike Gonzales (LHB, 25, A+) : .238/.338/.476, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 77 PA Bench: C - Kyle Knudson (RHB, 25, A+) : .432/.512/.649, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 43 PA IF - Nate Hanson (RHB, 26, AA/AAA) : .317/.405/.429, 2 HR, 11 RBI 1B - DJ Hicks (LHB, 23, A): .310/.385/.586, 3 HR, 12 RBI OF - JD Williams (SHB, 22, A): .270/.429/.514, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 6 SB, 49 PA UT - Matt Koch (RHB, 24, A+) : .405/.490/.548, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 49 PA Rotation: Tyler Duffey (RHP, 22, A) : 2-1, 2.29 ERA, 3 GS, 19.2 IP, 3 BB, 17 K, 0.661 WHIP (.184 BABIP), 7.78 K/9, 5.67 K/BB DJ Baxendale (RHP, 22, A+) : 2-0, 1.04 ERA, 3 GS, 17.1 IP, 3 BB, 15 K, 0.750 WHIP (.200 BABIP), 7.79 K/9, 5 K/BB Alex Meyer (RHP, 23, AA) : 1-0 , 1.69 ERA, 3 GS, 16 IP, 7 BB, 19 K, 1.250 WHIP (.317 BABIP), 10.69 K/9, 2.71 K/BB Kyle Gibson (RHP, 25, AAA) : 0-1, 4.43 ERA, 4 GS, 20.1 IP, 1.279 WHIP (.321 BABIP), 8.41 K/9, 2.71 K/BB Andew Albers (LHP, 27, AAA): 0-0, 3.09 ERA, 3 GS, 11.2 IP, 1.286 WHIP (.314 BABIP), 8.49 K/9, 2.75 K/BB Bullpen: Corey Williams (LHP, 22, A+) : 2.08 ERA, 7 G, 8.2 IP, 4 Sv, 0 BB, 3 K, 0.692 WHIP (.231 BABIP), 3.12 K/9 INF K/BB Adrian Salcedo (RHB, 22, A+): 4.82 ERA, 6 G, 9.1 IP, 0 BB, 11 K, 1.179 WHIP (.407 BABIP) 10.61 K/9, INF K/BB Caleb Thielbar (LHP, 26, AAA) : 3.68 ERA, 8 G, 14.2 IP, 2 BB, 18 K, 1.364 WHIP (.405 BABIP), 11.05 K/9, 9 K/BB Steven Gruver (LHP, 24, A) : 0.64 ERA, 4 G, 1 GS, 14 IP, 1 Sv, 2 BB, 16 K, 0.714 WHIP (.258 BABIP), 10.29 K/9, 8 K/BB Tyles Jones (RHB, 23, A) : 0.96 ERA, 5 G, 9.1 IP, 2 Sv, 2 BB, 11 K, 0.750 WHIP (.217 BABIP), 10.61 K/9, 5.50 K/BB Ryan O'Rourke (LHP, 25, A+) : 0.00 ERA, 5 G, 9 1P, 1 BB, 7 K, 0.333 WHIP (.100 BABIP), 7 K/9, 7 K/BB Zach Jones (RHB, 22, A+) : 1.00 ERA, 7 G, 9 IP, 5 Sv, 2 BB, 13 K, 0.667 WHIP (.176 BABIP), 12 K/9, 4 K/BB Click here to view the article

Good stuff. Lucas is one of the hidden gems in the Twins' organization. Cannot find a nicer and more soft spoken guy and he really has a long MLB pitching pedigree (being the Padres' closer for 3 seasons) but you would not really know it by the way he acts around both his pitchers and fans. Great guy, wish the Twins used him more but I am not sure how much he'd be into that (must be in his early 60s now) Interesting to see what the future holds for Berrios. They should definitely not rush him and should let him play at AA for most of next season. He needs to build endurance (as Lukas pretty much said) at this point, so he can potentially pitch a full MLB season when he gets called up.

Twins have made it official. Clete Thomas was claimed and Scott Baker has been transferred to the 60 Day Disabled List. Following today's game, the Twins will need to make a transaction to get back down to 25 on their roster. I would assume Ben Revere will go to Rochester so he can play every day, but you could make an argument that Sean Burroughs, Luke Hughes or a back-of-the-bullpen pitcher could be as well. Add your thoughts in our forum. (Seth) Originally reported here at Twins Daily by Thrylos98:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] I guess he takes Baker's 40-man spot. Either Revere to AAA or Burroughs waived Download attachment: CleteThomas.jpg Click here to view the article

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- With the Twins having a severe need for pitching in the organization as well as six picks among the top 100, it is certain that more than one of those picks (and probably the second overall pick) will be used to draft a pitcher. To this respect, I am presenting profiles of the top 22 pitching prospects for the 2012 MLB draft. I have been presenting these alphabetically, and at the end I will rank them. I will be doing about one a day and I will finish before the June 4th draft day. You can find all the profiles (in reverse alphabetical order) as they are presented here. I will start with RJ Alvarez and end with Kyle Zimmer. Each profile will contain a bit of background information and statistics, a mini scouting report and videos and photos. Because Mitch Brown is local, and the Twins have been linked with him, and there is a good possibility that they might select him in the supplementary or second round, I am presenting his profile, in addition to the other 22. Profile 23: Mitch Brown[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Profile/Stats: Mitchell Brown is a senior at Century High School in Rochester, MN. He committed to play for the University of San Diego. He is listed at 6'2" and 210 lbs. He was born on April 13, 1994 . He throws right-handed. Mitch is also playing the infield, but will be drafted as a pitcher. His father is a former Korean power lifter. You can find a web page with a lot of information on Mitch here. In 2012 he is 7-1 with 0.91 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 58 innings. Here is a recent 'CCO story and a video by Mark Rosen on Mitch Brown. He was recently named Minnesota Gatorade player of the year and this is a great story on him, by Tyler Mason. Mini Scouting Report: Mitch Brown throws an above average Fastball that sits in the low nineties and reportedly jumps to 95. He has excellent command and control of that pitch. He also throws a plus cut fastball in the low 90s that has good movement and deception. His breaking ball and changeup are works in progress. His delivery is nice and easy and his mechanics are good. Very coachable. Good strikeout to ball ratio at the high school level, but his breaking ball and change up need to improve to make the leap and they will improve with professional coaching. Videos/Photos: Due to the difficulties in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see videos of Mitch Brown pitching http://www.perfectgame.org/images/profilepics/12iaind-y17.jpg Since this finishes the presentation of profiles of the top pitchers in the 2012 MLB Draft, here is a list of the pitchers presented with links to their profiles at Twins Daily: RJ Alvarez Mark Appel Jake Barrett Chris Beck Ryan Burr Zach Eflin Max Fried Kevin Gausman Lucas Giolito Andrew Heaney Brian Johnson Pat Light Lance McCullers Clate Schmidt Lucas Sims Matt Smoral Chris Stratton Marcus Stromen Hunter Virant Michael Wacha Walker Weickel Kyle Zimmer Click here to view the article

This was first published at The Tenth Inning Stretch earlier this month. I know it is kind of old, but I think that the topic might be interesting for the Twins Daily readers, so I am republishing it here... February is African American/Black History Month, so I wanted to contribute by looking at the integration of the Twins franchise. It happened in the Senators' years. The Washington Senators were one of the first Major League teams to break the ethnicity barrier in 1913, by featuring two 17 year old lefty outfielders, Merito Acosta and Jack Calvo, both born in Cuba. (The team had a long pipeline of Cuban talent, pre-Castro.) But they were one of the last organizations to break the color barrier and integrate. Only the New York Yankees (1955), the Philadelphia Phillies (1957), the Detroit Tigers (1958) and the Boston Red Sox (1959) integrated later than the Senators. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]The first black player made his appearance on the Senators on September 6, 1954, at Griffith Stadium. He was Cuban-born Carlos Paula (Conill). Carlos Paula was born in Havana on Monday, November 28, 1927. He made his debut in the US in 1952, at age 24, playing for the Decatur Commodores of the integrated and unaffiliated, Class D, Mississippi-Ohio Valley League. He played as a right fielder in 119 of the 127 games, hit .334 and slugged .495 mainly because of 23 doubles and 16 triples. He also had 6 HRs. The next season, he started again in Decatur, hitting .265 and slugging .490 in the first 26 games. He was traded to the Paris Indians of the unaffiliated Class B Big State (mainly Texas) League. Even though the Indians were in the League basement with a 48-96 record, Paula played 97 games, hit .309, and slugged .462 with 20 doubles, 9 triples and 6 Home Runs. This caught the eye of the Senators who purchased him from the Paris Indians in the off-season. Paula started his Senators' career with their Charlotte Hornets A league (South Atlantic) affiliate. He hit .309 and slugged .495, with a league leading 13 triples (he also had 24 doubles and 14 home runs) in 153 games. This gained him a call up to the big leagues in September. His first appearance in the majors was at Griffith Stadium in both games of a double-header against the Philadelphia Athletics. He started the first game as the Left Fielder and batted 5th, between Peter Runnels and Jim Lemon. His first action of the game was when he led off the bottom of the second of a 0-0 game against Arnie Portocarrero. He struck out swinging. His first action in the field was in the top of the 3rd inning when he caught a fly ball hit by Spook Jacobs. He finished that game with 2 hits, a double and 2 runs batted in, in 5 plate appearances. He also led the team (other than 1st baseman Mickey Veron) with 4 put outs and was perfect in the field. The Senators won 8-1. At that point, a new leaf was turned in the Twins' Franchice history. The team was finally integrated. Paula played in 7 more games that season (including three more starts in left field. started 3 more at LF. In those nine total games, he hit .167/.231/.208. His double and the 2 RBIs in his debut were it for the season. He just managed 2 more singles and a couple of walks in the other 8 games. Paula played the whole 1955 season with the Senators. He appeared in 115 games, had 374 plate appearances, and hit a very respectable .299/.332./.449 (111 OPS+) He finished the season with 105 hits, 20 doubles, 7 triples, 6 HRs, 17 walks (3 intentional) and 47 strike outs. 1956 season was his last in the majors. He played in 33 games with the Senators, hitting .183/.250/.341 and he was optioned to their AAA club, the Louisville Colonels of the American Association. After 53 games he was sold to the Yankees' affiliate Denver Bears, also of the American Association. After 25 games with the Bears, in order to make room in the club for future All-Star Norm Siebern, the Yankees sold him to the Philies who assigned him to their AAA club, the Miami Marlins of the International League. He played just 11 games with them before he was released. The next season he played with the AAA Minneapolis Millers of the American Association, then a New York Giants' affiliate. In 1958 he played with the AAA Sacramento Solons (unaffiliated) of the Pacific Coast League. In 1959, he started the season with the Solons who were now the AAA club of the Milwaukee Braves and mid-season 1959 he was traded to the International League (AAA) Cincinnati Reds affiliate, Havana Sugar Kings. We all know what happened in Cuba in 1959, but Carlo Paula's situation there is not clear. He played 31 games with the Sugar Kings and next season he surfaced in Mexico, playing 88 games with the Mexico City Tigres of the Mexican League who were the League Champions. That season, 1960, his age 32 season, was the last professional baseball season for Carlos Paula. Paula died at the age of 55 in Miami, FL on April 25, 1983. The Washington Senators did not sign a US-born African American player until they signed Joe Black (the first African American pitcher in the majors with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1952) as a free agent on August 7, 1957. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6802077409_009d8853f0_o.jpg Click here to view the article

A couple days ago I realized that the Rochester Red Wings were playing the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs in my back yard this weekend. Their ballpark (Coca Cola Park) is less than half an hour away from my door, so I make it a point to go see the Red Wings every year when they play there. This was their second game here and by choice I went today instead of yesterday because Kyle Gibson was pitching. There were a lot of conflicting reports about him and I wanted to see with my own eyes how he is doing. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Not the best day for a ball game. It was in the high 50's and overcast with occasional sprinkles: ~~~ Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ~~~ http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2834/8754518501_2a4d632c7f_z.jpg The ball park is probably the best in the minors and it's always a joy to be there (OK, I might have home town bias ) : http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8555/8754518455_7a5cb7e3c5_z.jpg I got to see Gibson pitch in the pen before the game and was fairly impressed. His fastball was really popping in Eric Fryer's glove and both velocity and movement were there from my point of view: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3683/8755642196_3f9e2d6a08_z.jpg After about 20 pitches I returned to my seat (1st row, next to the Red Wings dugout) from the outfield bullpen and watched the game. I was very lucky to be there because this was a magnificent pitching performance by Gibson. I came in with an open mind and no expectations and left a strong believer that Gibson is the best starting pitcher the Twins have today. A bit about his performance (and I am not going to get into things like numbers, which you can read elsewhere): he had great command of four pitches. His fastball was his primary pitch and was sitting from 92-94 all night long. It spiked to 95 a few times and went to 91 a couple. It was at 94 in the 9th inning as well. In the first 5 innings he mostly threw his fastball and slider, which ran from 84 to 86 and really kept the IronPig hitters off balance, causing a lot of swings and misses. I have to mention that Gibson had impeccable command of the fastball; he would locate it up and down and inside and out....and throw it in the dirt when he wanted to. In the later innings he started throwing more of his changeup that was running from 81-83 mph with a good late motion; also, he featured a tight slow curve (78-80 mph) that I did not realize he had. He threw that pitch a few times late in the game. He was totally on top of his game today. In addition to what he did on the field, a thing that really impressed me was his composure in the dugout, knowing that he was tossing a no-hitter; he was sitting there cheering his teammates and clapping when they were batting, instead of being "in his own world" and apathetic about the game. This was a dominating performance that, I think, won him his first trip to the majors. Frankly, I thought that I witnessed history and it was that close... Gibson being interviewed after the game: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2823/8754518335_7a118c7075_z.jpg It was Kyle Gibson's day but a few more observations about the team and a couple of players: This looks like a close knit team with a lot of positive energy. A funny thing that happened was when Antoan Richardson, who was the Red Wings' left fielder today, came back to the dugout, he got a hazing in jest by Clete Thomas, who did not play, and Brian Dinkelman, who was the first base coach (because the first IronPigs first hit was to the left fielder). All the players seemed to have fun but one. And it was very obvious and the Twins as an organization have to do something to help him: Joe Benson. Joe was the starting centerfielder today and had a great game at the field, getting to every ball hit his way. At the plate he had a 2-run scoring single in his third plate appearance. He also nearly ran out an infield hit in his fourth at-bat and struck out in his first two PAs against an IronPigs pitcher who threw 69-78 mph junk. His body language was very obvious and a big sign that he is pressing and needs help. After each unsuccessful plate appearance he went back to the dugout, slapping himself and sitting alone, despondent, with his head in his hands. He needs help, coaching and someone in the Twins organization to tell him that it is not worth it. He is still one of the top talents the Twins have and they should do something to help him. http://farm9.staticf...3477b8fb_z.jpg Chris Colabello had another great night at the plate and played right field. I would not be surprised if Chris Parmelee and he swap teams sometime soon. His fielding at right was uneventful, but he is better than I thought on the base paths. Speaking of base paths, Antoan Richardson late in the game hit a triple that would have been a double in most cases and should have been an inside the park home run, if Gene Glynn (whoserved as the third base coach) had not put up the stop sign.) Of course, the the Red Wings were also up by ten at that point. Chris Herrmann, another player who has been having a forgetable season so far, had a good game and looked like he enjoyed it, which is a good thing to see. A few parting shots from the game: http://farm9.staticf...d6438a560_z.jpg Chris Colabello: http://farm3.staticf...337ea330a_z.jpg Brian Dinkelman, the first base coach: http://farm4.staticf...2d753bd8_z.jpg Some of these guys will probably be starting for the Twins one of these days (Virgil Vasquez, Liam Hendriks, Cole DeVries) : http://farm4.staticf...e58b2c114_z.jpg Click here to view the article

I think that it is fair to say that Brian Dozier's 2013 season (especially his power numbers) was not expected by many, based on his fairly disappointing 2012 rookie season and his fairly flat minor league career. But was there anything is his path through the minors that could have acted as a leading indicator potentially predicting his 2013 breakout season? After he was drafted in the eighth round of the 2009 draft Dozier moved in a pretty typical path through the Twins organization for a 22 year old: Rookie leagues in 2009, split between A and high A in 2010 and split between high A and double AA, in his age 24 season. That was the season when Dozier finally got it all together. Here is a graph of his OPS and ISO throughout his career. ~~~ Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ~~~ http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7298/11016136206_480115753b_o.jpg His age 24 season shows a noticeable increase in his OPS and, especially, his ISO which doubled from previous marks and was approaching the .200s . His power (but not his OPS - which means that he still potentially has ways to go in the major league level) was very similar to that exhibited in his age 26 MLB season (2013). Also to be noted is that Dozier, after his 2011 season, continued the success in the AFL: .296/.358/.454 (.821 OPS, .158 ISO). He did have a setback in 2012, but that entire Twins' season was a setback. Let's compare the above chart with a chart that shows the OPS and ISO numbers per season of another Twins' player and align them for age: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7358/11016251843_6ecb81ef87_o.jpg As you can see, this player has started his professional career earlier that Dozier did and had similar moderate success. However, like Dozier, in his age 24 season (at AAA instead of Dozier's A/A+), had a major breakthrough with increases in OPS and ISO to close to all-star levels. Actually, at the same age and at a higher level of competition, his OPS and power numbers were better than Dozier's, which makes me believe that he will potentially have a season similar to Dozier's 2013 next year. The player? Eduardo Escobar Also of note is that Escobar (like Dozier in 2011) is continuing his breakthough 2013 season in the Venezuela Winter League: .302/.348/.519 (.867 OPS, .217 ISO) at the time this was written How about fielding which was another strong suit of Brian Dozier's ? Here are the MLB career numbers for Dozier: .992 FP% 2B (1255 Inn), .964 FP% SS (732 Inn), UZR/150: -0.7 2B, -5.0 SS, RZR .832 2B (MLB best 2013: .842), .796 SS (MLB Best 2013: .876; Florimon .838) And Escobar: 1.000 FP% 2B (149.7 Inn), .951 FP% 3B (287.7 Inn), .959 FP% SS (281.2 Inn) UZR/150: -6.0 2B, -16.2 3B, 5.1 SS. RZR: .813 2B (MLB best 2013: .842), .641 3B, .814 SS (MLB Best 2013: .876; Florimon .838) Neither Dozier nor Escobar make many errors. UZR/150 does not like Dozier and Escobar at 2B and 3B, but likes Escobar at SS. Revized Zone Rating has Dozier near the MLB top at second base and Escobar above average at both 2B and SS (but not that great at 3B). Note that Escobar's defense at SS is close to Florimon's as far as UZR/150 and RZR are concerned, but he is making fewer errors than Florimon. Could Escobar be the Twins' SS of the near future and Escobar and Dozier the Twins double play combination for a while? Time will tell, but if Dozier's very similar career is an indicator, it looks like a very true possibility, starting with the 2014 season. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3696/11017192645_3f60120173_z.jpg Click here to view the article

I had the opportunity to watch the Rochester Red Wings' last 3 games (the double header last night and this afternoon's game) in my back yard against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs over the weekend. My list of must-dos were to see whether Alex Meyer was as good as he was this spring, in real game situations and to see what Eduardo Nunez was all about. Happily to say, I have done that and more and I am ready to share. Speaking about sharing, on the first leg of the doubleheader last night, the IronPigs wore their new bacon uniforms, so here is a shot of them. If you look closely, the bacon strip on the hat spells "IronPigs" in a Salvador Dali-like script. Back to the Twins: Little known fact, but Alex Meyer is doing a variety of resistance exercises on his shoulder for a good 20 minutes before he goes to the pen to warm up. I guess that loosens the shoulder In this game Meyer showed why he is the Twins' number 3 overall prospectand the Twins' top prospect who is playing the game right now. His fastball sat all night between 94 and 96 mph, touching as high as 97 and as low as 92, and was a ball he threw all over the zone. Inside and out and up and down. If being a batter trying to catch up to a 97 mph inside FB after swinging at a 94 mph outside FB was not enough, Meyer's best pitch is not his fastball that has a wicked downward motion and it is very hard to lift. Arguably, his fastball is his third best pitch. He is using his FB to set up a knee buckling high 70s curve (his best pitch by far) and a low to mid 80s changeup with a tailing motion. These two are his out pitches. He also has a slurvy slider in mid to upper 80s, which is an average pitch at this point. So we are talking about a repertoire of 3 plus pitches (with at least the curve being plus plus) and an average and improving pitch. All a batter can do at this point is to put the bat down in the zone and pray contact is made and there is a bloop or an error on the other end. And that was what happened yesterday. A couple of bloops, a couple errors by Deibinson Romero and a couple soft singles down the middle amidst a bunch of broken bats, soft grounders and strikeouts. Here are pictorials on the velocities that Meyer operates within (radar readings upper right corner) : https://farm4.static...f0933ccfa_b.jpg https://farm4.static...160f60787_b.jpg https://farm4.static...a345a9ed9_b.jpg https://farm4.static...04079c76a_b.jpg https://farm4.static...4704e94c7_b.jpg Those were: Fastball, Slider, Change up, Curve, Curve. And his fastest fastball clocked at 97, while his slowest curve at 78. This is a good 20 mph or so range and he held that range throughout the game. By far, he has the best stuff in the Twins' organization and definitely top of the rotation potential. Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch Next: Eduardo Nunez. Click here to view the article

This post was originally posted in its entirety at The Tenth Inning Stretch. Because of the image limitations I can only post some of it. To see the whole post with Action Photos of Twins' prospects including 2 Round 1 draft picks, please go here ----- Today the big boys were playing the Orioles in Sarasota. So were the AAA, AA and A+ squads and the only action at the Lee County Sports Complex was the Beloit Snappers hosting the Orioles A league squad at field number 3 and several other players, most of them rookies, practicing and scrimmaging in field 1. The Beloit game was a treat in many respects. First and foremost was that TK was the manager and it was interesting to watch TK manage a game from a dugout, even though this game was an A level Spring Training Game.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6236/7022468581_dc614d78de_b.jpg A lot of interesting names in this game, and if one assumes that they all will start in Beloit, the Snappers' fans will be in for a treat. Here is the lineup: 2B AJ Petersen 3B Nick Lockwood RF Max Kepler 1B DJ Romero (a surprise to play at that level) CF Romy Jimenez (another surprise to see at the level, the other way from Romero) SS Tyler Grimes DH Drew Leachman C Matt Koch LF Wang-Wei Lee JD Williams, Nate Roberts and Miquel Sano were around and did not play and Micheal Quesada entered later as a Catcher. http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6046/7022468617_ae7f3d3f96_b.jpg Interesting to see Tom Kelly around young players at that level, especially for the ones of us who knew how he was with rookies as a major league manager later in his career. Lots of yelling encouraging stuff from the dugout, lots of playing and teasing with them (esp. Sano, more on that later) and in general good good feeling. I am certain that these players had a blast. http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6039/7022468657_633d4413b8_b.jpg BJ Hermsen was the starter and he lasted about 3 innings. Hermsen is 22, played last season in Beloit and a little bit at Fort Myers, and he seems to be repeating Beloit. He was somewhat disappointing, having issues with his control and walking a lot of baby Orioles. I was really expecting a somewhat more polished pitcher than what I saw today. Maybe it is just a matter of time. http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6105/7022468633_45f6016281_b.jpg Second pitcher in was Steve Gruver (LHP) the 2011 7th Round pick who actually pitched 3 innings (and looks like he is stressed to be a starter in 2012.) He was very effective, a quick worker and he missed a few bats. I think that he has the potential to surprise in 2012. http://farm7.staticf...6a94255b7_b.jpg Another pitcher I haven't seen play (other than that awful video from Vandy where he broke his kneecap on the mount and made the play) is Corey Williams, the Twins' 3rd round pick in 2011. This guy can be really special for the organization. He has a heavy singing FB with a lot of movement, that sits around 91-92 (had to move and go to the scouting table to look his velocity, because his staff is THAT good) a good curve in the low mid 70s and he is playing with a change. His sinker/cutter is his bread and butter and he both missed bats and induced ground balls. And he is a leftie. He will probably be the closer for Beloit but I can see him make it all the way up to New Britain this season, he is just this good. Alternatively, he might be stressed to be a starter in 2013 or so, if he has the endurance. But this kid is special. http://farm8.staticf...0ccb11473_b.jpg Speaking of Special Kids. Sano did not play today for some reason. I overheard that he might be DHing tomorrow, so he might be fighting something or another. But he sat there absorbed in the game, very talkative with TK and his teammates and even brought water to the umpires at some point. The remaining post, including photos (16 total) of Miquel Sano, Hudson Boyd, Travis Harrison, Max Kepler and other Twins' prospects because of image limitations here continues at The Tenth Inning Stretch. Click here to view the article

The lore of baseball has it that the jumps from single A to high A and from high A to AA are the hardest jumps in a pro player's minor league career. In actuality, there is another jump that is much harder and only about one in five players make it: The jump from the Dominican Summer League to the Gulf Coast League. The players who make this jump are what an organization thinks is the cream of the crop of the next generation of their Latin American prospects who have been having their first taste of pro ball in the DSL. Here are the names of the players who made the jump from the DSL to the GCL for the Minnesota Twins (with one exception) this season: [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Jose Alexi Abreu, 20, (RHP) 5'11", 170 Birthday: 07/13/1992, Dominican Republic Signed in 2010. Not to be confused with the Cuban Jose Abreu or thisformer Twins' RHP. (The article linked is a 1981 Sports illustrated article that is a must read for a historic perspective of Latin American Free Agent signings before the big bonus era.) ~~~ Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ~~~ Damiam (Damian) Ismael Campusano Defrank, 18, (RHP), 6'3", 200 Birthday: 02/01/1995, Dominican Republic Signed in 2012 Miguel Antonio Gonzalez, 18 (RHP), 6'1", 180 Birthday: 10/12/1994, Dominican Republic Signed in 2011 for $650K. Jonatan Hinojosa (Ynojosa) 20, (SS), 5'11", 150, SH Birthday: 10/23/1992, Dominican Republic Signed in 2009 German Amaurys Minier, 17 (SS/3B) 6'2", 190, SH Birthday: 01/30/1996, Dominican Republic Signed in 2012 for $1.4M He did not play in the DSL last season but played in the Academy (the one exception here) Adonis Alexander Beltran Pacheco, 21, (OF), 5'11", 175, LH Birthday: 7/14/1991, Dominican Republic Signed in 2009 Joel Bienvenido Polanco 20, ©, 5'11", 175, RH Birthday: 08/15/1992, Dominican Republic Signed in 2010 Not to be confused with Twins SS Jorge Polanco (now in Cedar Rapids) who also was signed in 2010 for $750K bonus Fernando Ernesto Romero, 18, (RHP), 6'0", 215 Birthday: 12/24/1994, Dominican Republic Signed in 2011 Engelb Vielma 19, (SS), 5'11", 155, SH Birthday: 06/22/1994 , Venezuela Signe in 2011 Reyson Andres Zoquiel, 19, (LHP), 5'11", 175 Birthday: 11/05/1993, Dominican Republic Signed in 2010 In addition to the above players, Leonel Zazueta, an 18-year-old RHP from Mexico with a very live mid 90s fastball, who signed last year with a large bonus and like Minier is starting his pro career in the US, is on the GCL roster, skipping the DSL. http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/14/55/32/3331724/3/628x471.jpg Click here to view the article

This is the eighth segment of the 2014 off-season Twins top 40 prospects, and we have reached the top players, but this is not the last post in this series. For completeness sake, I will have a summary post with all 40 tomorrow. The number 1 to 5 off-season 2014 Minnesota Twins prospects are: 5. Kohl Stewart RHSP, DOB: 10/7/1994, 6'3", 195 lbs. Stewart was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2013 draft from St Pius X High School (Houston, TX). Other than a single game started in Elizabethton (4 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 8 K) he started his pro career in the GCL at age 18, when he pitched in seven games (four GS) for 20 innings, walking three and striking out 16. He had a 1.69 ERA and 0.938 WHIP. Stewart has four pitches that he commands well: A plus to plus plus mid-90s fastball that peaks at 97-98, a close to plus mid- to high-80s slider, an above average high-70s low-80s curveball and a plus low- to mid-80s changeup, which is an impressive arsenal for an 18-year-old. Stewart draws comparisons to another Houstonian hurler and the Twins would be ecstatic if he realizes half of that potential. He is still getting a feel of how to pitch, but this is expected of someone his age. Depending on how he shows in spring training, I will not be surprised if he starts 2014, at age 19, in Cedar Rapids' rotation. ~~~ For more, prospects 36-40 are here, 31-35 here, 26-30 here, 21-25 here, 16-20 here, 11-15 here, 6-10 here, and you can find all segments in reverse order here. ~~~ 4. Eddie Rosario LH, 2B, DOB: 9/28/1991, 6'0", 170 lbs. Eddie Rosario was drafted by the Twins in the fourth round of the 2010 draft from Rafael Lopez Landron (PR) High Schoolas an OF. Rosario is one of those rare prospects who has had success at every step of his pro career, with a career slash line at .307/.358/.510 . His best season was his second, his age 19 season, 2011, at Elizabethton, where he hit .337/.397/.670 with a career high 21 HRs in 67 games (298 PAs). He also swiped 17 bases that season. That was his last season as a full- time center fielder before being converted to a second baseman by the Twins due to their wealth of outfielders. He played in Beloit in 2012, with his season cut short by a line drive to the face that broke his jaw bone. Despite that, he finished the season with a .296/.345/.490 slash line. He moved up to Fort Myers in 2013 (age 21 season) where he hit .329/.377/.527 before moving to New Britain mid-season. In New Britain he hit .284/.330/.412. Last year, Rosario played in a career high 122 games with a career high 544 PAs. As if that was not enough, he played at the Arizona Fall League after this season and continued in the Puerto Rican Winter League this winter. Right before he made his appearance in the PWL he communicated to the press that he had tested positive for prescription painkillersand was given a 50-day suspension, but at the time of this writing he has yet to be charged officially. Rosario has all-star potential. A middle infielder with IsoP in the .200s before he hit drinking age, supplemented with good contact and decent plate discipline (he still needs some work on this tool) is rare. But the key word here is "infielder". Rosario is still learning the position, but has shown a lot of promise and second base is probably the easiest position in the diamond defensively. For this, his impending suspension might be a blessing in disguise: it will give him some necessary rest after about 700 projected plate appearances this year and will also give him a couple months in extended spring training to work on his fielding while serving his suspension. He will likely start 2014 in New Britain. 3. Alex Meyer, RH, DOB: 1/3/1990, 6'9", 220 lbs. Meyer was drafted in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft by the Washington Nationals out of the University of Kentucky and traded to the Twins last off-season (2012) for Denard Span. I am not really going to give detailed statistics for the top three Twins' prospects, just some information and justification for the rankings. I assume everyone knows enough about them at this point. Meyer was ranked #83 prospect in baseball by MLB.com before the 2012 season and #59 from Baseball America and #40 by MLB.com before last season. Believe it or not, Meyer is near major league ready after just twoprofessional seasons and at certain teams he would be in their 2014 MLB rotation. His repertoire includes three pitches: a plus plus fastball that averages 94-96 and hits 98-100, a plus to plus plus hard slider at the high-80s with a sharp break and an average changeup, which right now is a complementary pitch. A likely comparable is a right-handed version of Randy Johnson because their pitching styles and their offerings are so similar. Developing that changeup will make Meyer truly dominant. His ceiling is a top of the rotation, perennial all-star starter. He likely will start 2014 (his age 24 season) in Rochester. He is not on the 40 man roster, but may still get a September call-up, depending on how he and the Twins are doing. 2. Byron Buxton, RH, CF, DOB: 12/18/1993, 6'2", 189 lbs Byron Buxton was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the first round (second overall) of the 2012 draft. Before the 2013 season he was rated the #10 prospect in baseball by Baseball America and #19 by MLB.com. He likely is thought of as the top Twins' prospect by most people. Why he is not here? Because I think Sano is a better player right now, because I saw him strike out on three straight change- ups last spring training, because he had a less than stellar performance in the AFL, and because at the same level (Fort Myers) at the same season, Miguel Sano (who is just 7 months older) was a better player. As a matter of fact, other than the Midwest League (and this could very well be Beloit vs Cedar Rapids,) Sano's production was better than Buxton's at the same stops. Another issue with Buxton's production is that his OPS dropped more than 100 points (from .990 to .887) from Cedar Rapids to Fort Myers. And his BABIP in both stops were ridiculous .402 and .404, which is about 100 points higher than the combined .303 at the two rookie stops the previous two seasons. I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, just color me a tad worried here and not ready to jump on the "top prospect in the system" bandwagon, at least while Sano is still a prospect. On the other hand, Buxton is more of a complete player, having better defense and speed tools than Sano. He has been compared to Mike Trout, but his overall performance in the Midwest League in the first half of 2013 at the same age (19) was better than Trout's in the same league at the same age. What is Buxton's ceiling? Rickey Henderson with a stronger arm and fewer stolen bases (just because players do not steal that much these days.) He could be a fixture at center field and an all-star for many years. But he has to prove himself against AA pitching first and will get that chance, likely starting his age twenty season in New Britain. Twins' fans are wishing for a September call-up to the majors, but I think 2015 is more realistic, unless he tears the Eastern League apart and the Twins are competing in September (and both would be great things). 1. Miguel Sano RH, 3B, DOB: 5/11/1993, 6'3", 195 lbs. The Twins signed Miguel Sano as a free agent from the Dominican Republic in October, 2009 to a $3.15 million signing bonus. Before the 2010 season Sano was ranked as the 94th prospect in baseball by BA, before the 2011 season the 60th, before the 2012 season the 18th by BA and 23th by MLB.com and before last season the 9th by BA and 12th by MLB.com In the Byron Buxton entry, I talked about why I think Sano is a better prospect, but I shouldn't have needed to, if I had just re-iterated what I wrote here last August, arguing that he should be the top prospect in baseball after this season. Miguel Sano is number one as far as I am concerned. And I am not going to compare him with Miguel Cabrera, like a lot of people do, because: a) Miguel Cabrera is a disliked Tiger and I think that Sano will be better. Instead, I will compare him to a beloved Twins' player: Harmon Killebrew. Nitpickers focus on Sano's K% of around 25% on each of his age 17 to 20 seasons. But Killer's K% in his age 19 to 22 seasons were 34.8%, 35.5%, 24.2% and 36.4%, respectively. There is further nitpicking at Sano's defense, but Killebrew also came up as a third baseman when he was a Senator. He ended up all right by any measure. Next season will be Sano's age 21 season. He will likely start 2014 in Rochester with a potential September call-up, depending on his and the Twins' performances. He is not on the 40-man roster, so a 2015 MLB appearance, like Buxton, is more likely. I was recently asked (after this was up) whether Sano's elbow issues might change my opinion on the rankings. The answer is categorically no, the same way that Buxton's shoulder issues do not change my opinion on him. If any of those injuries are catastrophic, it might be a different story. My original thoughts were that both Sano and Buxton will not be in the majors until at least 2015, so even that time- table is not affected.... Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3811/9382321846_18764053ef_z.jpg Next: Summary of all 1-40. Click here to view the article

"Those Damn Yankees" is a series about Twins-Yankees history by some of our favorite Twins Daily writers, leading up to the Bombers four-game visit July 1st to the 4th. For a large fraction of Minnesota Twins fans, the Yankees clearly represent three things: a franchise that has a bottomless pit for a budget, a team that the Twins have had to face every Twins-inclusive post-season, and the team the Twins lost to in each of those post-seasons. So the Yankees have been the proverbial thorn on the Twins' side and a major pain in their backside. For most fans, this relationship of the Twins-Yankees franchises is a recent one, but this cannot be further from the truth. The two franchises have a long, intertwining history that goes way back to the early,dark ages of baseball [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ~~~ Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch~~~ In 1901 both the Twins and Yankees franchises were founding members of the American League. The Yankees started their American League life as the Baltimore Orioles. The Twins, as the new franchise in Washington that had moved from Kansas City (the Blues), took the name of the National League team that had been in D.C. and had been dissolved in 1899, the Senators. The KC Blues were part of the old Western League, the predecessor of the American League. That league was founded in 1893 and was composed of Midwestern teams. One of the founding teams was the Sioux City Corn Huskers. In 1894 Charles Comiskey bought the Sioux City club and transferred them to St. Paul, MN and called them the St. Paul Saints. The Saints moved to Chicago at the same time the Blues moved to Washington DC to become the Senators and Comiskey's team became the White Stockings, aka the White Sox. So think about that the next time the Twins decide to wear Saints' uniforms. But I digress. Back to the Twins and the Yankees... The Yankees did not last long in Baltimore. They moved to the Bronx and became the Highlanders, with pretty much a brand new squad. The first ever game of the Highlanders, as fate would have it, was against the Senators in Washington. The Senators won 3-1: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3728/9069839623_cd920d5511_o.jpg Both teams were wallowing in mediocrity in the aughts and the teens (and the Highlanders changed their name to the Yankees in 1913, to no apparent avail). But in the Roaring Twenties, the Yankees and the Senators were the two teams that dominated the American League. The Yankees of Babe Ruth, Wait Hoyt and Lou Gehrig went to the World Series from '21-'23 and from '26-'28 (won in '23, '27 and '28) and the Senators of Walter Johnson, Goose Goslin and Sam Rice went in '24 and '25 and won their first trip. This is a photo of Walter Johnson and Lou Gerhig. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7402/9069839791_45c99d151c_o.jpg With the exception of a World Series trip by the Senators in 1933, the two franchises went in opposite directions from then on, with the Yankees becoming the Yankees and the Senators becoming the Senators. Twins' fans might dislike the Yankees now, but the two teams have had good relationships in their front offices since day one and a lot of cross-polination. In addition to Billy Martin who managed both the Twins and the Yankees, the following two Hall of Fame managers managed in both franchises: Clark Griffith (1903-1908 Highlanders and 1912-1920 Senators) and Bucky Harris (1924-1928, 1935-1942, 1950-1954 Senators and 1947-1938 Yankees.) Harris won World Series with both teams (1924 and 1947, which were in his first year with each team). Griffith and Martin, in addition to managing both MLB teams also played for both. Speaking about playing for both teams, there are not two other teams in major league baseball that have had more players taking the field for both than the Twins/Senators and the Yankees. Their proximity and the train between New York and Washington DC helped in the early years. And before the '40's there were a lot of players going up and down the east coast try to make a living. The exchanges have continued up through recent times. The following 175 players (including many All-Stars and four Hall-of-Famers) played for both the Yankees' and the Twins' franchises. A lot of these players were traded between the two franchises; look for players who played for both in the same season or in consecutive seasons: Spencer Adams (Senators 1925, Yankees 1926), Bernie Allen (Twins 1962-66, Yankees 1972-73), John Anderson (Senators 1905-07, Highlanders 1904-05), Pete Appleton (Senators 1936-39, 1945, Yankees 1933), Luis Ayala (Twins 2009, Yankees 2011), Willie Banks (Twins 1991-93, Yankees 1997-98), Walter Beall (Senators 1929, Yankees 1924-27), Lou Berberet (Senators 1956-58, Yankees 1954-55), Garland Braxton (Senators 1927-30, Yankees 1925-26), Tommy Byrne (Senators 1953, Yankees 1943, 1946-51, 1954-57), Bullet Joe Bush (Senators 1926, Yankees 1922-24), Archie Campbell (Senators 1929, Yankees 1928), John Candelaria (Twins 1990, Yankees 1988-89), Roy Carlyle (Senators 1925, Yankees 1926), Ben Chapman (Senators 1936-37, 1941, Yankees 1930-36), Mike Chartak (Senators 1942, Yankees 1940, 1942), Al Cicotte (Senators 1958, Yankees 1957), Tex Clevenger (Senators 1956-60, Yankees 1961-62), Orth Collins (Senators 1909, Highlanders 1904), Wid Conroy (Senators 1909-11, Highlanders 1903-08), Ron Coomer (Twins 1995-2000, Yankees 2002), Don Cooper (Twins 1981-82, Yankees 1985), Clint Courtney (Senators 1955-59, Yankees 1951), Stan Coveleski, HOF (Senators 1925-27, Yankees 1928), Herb Crompton (Senators 1937, Yankees 1945), Roy Cullenbine (Senators 1942, Yankees 1942), Nick Cullop (Senators 1927, Yankees 1926), Jim Deshaies (Twins 1993-94, Yankees 1984), Chili Davis (Twins 1991-92, Yankees 1998-1999), Ron Davis (Twins 1982-86, Yankees 1978-81), Rick Dempsey (Twins 1969-72, Yankees 1973-76), Jimmie DeShong (Senators 1936-39, Yankees 1934-35), Sonny Dixon (Senators 1953-54, Yankees 1956), Jack Doyle (Senators 1902, Highlanders 1905), Lew Drill (Senators 1902-04, Orioles 1902), Kid Elberfeld (Senators 1910-11, Highlanders 1903-09), Roger Erickson (Twins 1978-81, Yankees 1982-83), Scott Erickson (Twins 1990-95, Yankees 2006), Alvaro Espinoza (Twins 1984-86, Yankees 1988-91), Alex Ferguson (Senators 1925-26, Yankees 1918, 1921, 1925), Wes Ferrell (Senators 1937-38, Yankees 1938-39), Tom Ferrick (Senators 1947-48 and 1951-52, Yankees 1950-51), Pete Filson (Twins 1982-86, Yankees 1987), Ray Fontenot (Twins 1986, Yankees 1983), Eddie Foster (Senators 1912-19, Highlanders 1910), Ray Francis (Senators 1922, Yankees 1925), George Frazier (Twins 1986-87, Yankees 1981-83), Billy Gardner (Senators/Twins 1960-61, Yankees 1961-62), Milt Gaston (Senators 1928, Yankees 1924), Joe Gedeon (Senators 1913-14, Yankees 1916-17), Al Gettel (Senators 1949, Yankees 1945-46), Lefty Gomez, HOF (Senators 1943, Yankees 1930-42), Wayne Granger (Twins 1972, Yankees 1973), Clark Griffith, HOF (Senators 1912-14, Highlanders 1903-07), Randy Gumpert (Senators 1952, Yankees 1946-48), Bump Hadley (Senators 1926-31, 1935, Yankees 1936-1940), Jimmie Hall (Twins 1963-66, Yankees 1969), Joe Harris (Senators 1925-26, Yankees 1914), Harry Harper (Senators 1913-19, Yankees 1921), LaTroy Hawkins (Twins 1995-2003, Yankees 2008), Neal Heaton (Twins 1986, Yankees 1993), Sean Henn (Twins 2009, Yankees 2005-07), Steve Howe (Twins 1985, Yankees 1991-96), Tom Hughes (Senators 1904-09, 1911-13, Orioles/Highlanders 1902, 1904), Jackie Jensen (Senators 1952-53, Yankees 1950-52), Don Johnson (Senators 1951-52, Yankees 1947, 1950), Sad Sam Jones (Senators 1928-31, Yankees 1922-26), Tim Jordan (Senators 1901, Highlanders 1903), Jim Kaat (Senators/Twins 1959-1973, Yankees 1979-80), Bill Keister (Senators 1902, Orioles 1901), Roberto Kelly (Twins 1996-97, Yankees 1987-92), Frank Kitson (Senators 1906-07, Highlanders 1907), John Knight (Senators 1912, Highlanders/Yankees 1909-11, 1913), Andy Kosco (Twins 1965-67, Yankees 1966), Chuck Knoblauch (Twins 1991-97, Yankees 1998-01), Bob Kuzava (Senators 1950-51, Yankees 1951-54), Frank LaPorte (Senators 1912-13, Highlanders 1905-10), Dave LaRoche (Twins 1972, Yankees 1981-83), Lyn Lary (Senators 1935, Yankees 1929-34), Chris Latham (Twins 1997-99, Yankees 2003), Jack Lelivelt (Senators 1909-11, Highlanders/Yankees 1912-13), Duffy Lewis (Senators 1921, Yankees 1919-20), Jim Lewis (Twins 1983, Yankees 1982), Slim Love (Senators 1913, Yankees 1916-18), Kevin Maas (Twins 1995, Yankees 1990-93), Danny MacFayden (Senators 1941, Yankees 1932-34), Billy Martin (Twins 1961, Yankees 1950-57), Tippy Martinez (Twins 1988, Yankees 1974-76), Mickey McDermott (Senators 1954-55, Yankees 1956), Danny McDevitt (Twins 1961, Yankees 1961), Darnell McDonald (Twins 2007, Yankees 2012), Mike McNally (Senators 1925, Yankees 1921-24) Doug Mientkiewicz (Twins 1998-04, Yankees 2007), Larry Milbourne (Twins 1982, Yankees 1981-82, 1983), Willy Miranda (Senators 1951, Yankees 1953-54), Chad Moeller (Twins 2000, Yankees 2010), George Mogridge (Senators 1921-25, Yankees 1915-20), Mike Morgan (Twins 1998, Yankees 1982), Tom Morgan (Senators 1960, Yankees 1951-52; 1954-56), George Murray (Senators 1926-27, Yankees 1922) Dan Naulty (Twins 1996-98, Yankees 1999), Denny Neagle (Twins 1991, Yankees 2000), Graig Nettles (Twins 1967-69, Yankees 1973-83), Bobo Newsom (Senators 1935-37, 1943, 1946-67, 1952, Yankees 1947) Joe Niekro (Twins 1987-88, Yankees 1895-87), Irv Noren (Senators 1950-52, Yankees 1952-56), Jesse Orosco (Twins 2003, Yankees 2003), Al Orth (Senators 1902-04, Highlanders 1904-09), Champ Osteen (Senators 1903, Highlanders 1904), John Pacella (Twins 1982, Yankees 1982), Carl Pavano (Twins 2009-12, Yankees 2005-08), Roger Peckinpaugh (Senators 1922-26, Yankees 1913-21), Eddie Phillips (Senators 1934, Yankees 1932), Sidney Ponson (Twins 2007, Yankees 2006, 2008), Bob Porterfield (Senators 1951-55, Yankees 1948-51), Jake Powell (Senators 1930-36, 1943-45, Yankees 1936-40), Jerry Priddy (Senators 1943, 1946-47, Yankees 1941-42), Pedro Ramos (Senators/Twins 1955-61, Yankees 1964-66), Shane Rawley (Twins 1989, Yankees 1982-84), Jeff Reardon (Twins 1987-89, Yankees 1994), Harry Rice (Senators 1931, Yankees 1930), Roxey Roach (Senators 1912, Highlanders 1910-11), Eddie Robinson (Senators 1949-50, Yankees 1954-56), Kenny Rogers (Twins 2003, Yankees 1996-97), Jim Roland (Twins 1962-64, 1966-68, Yankees 1972), Braggo Roth (Senators 1920, Yankees 1921), Muddy Ruel (Senators 1923-30, Yankees 1917-20), Dutch Ruether (Senators 1925-26, Yankees 1926-27) Allen Russell (Senators 1923-25, Yankees 1915-19), Mark Salas (Twins 1985-87, Yankees 1987), Fred Sanford (Senators 1951, Yankees 1949-51), Ray Scarborough (Senators 1942-43, 1946-50, Yankees 1952-53) Germany Schaefer (Senators 1909-14, Yankees 1916), Art Schult (Senators 1957, Yankees 1953), Johnny Schmitz (Senators 1953-55, Yankees 1952-53), Everett Scott (Senators 1925, Yankees 1922-25), Kip Selbach (Senators 1903-04, Orioles 1902), Hank Severeid (Senators 1925-26, Yankees 1926), Howie Shanks (Senators 1912-22, Yankees 1925), Spec Shea (Senators 1952-55, Yankees 1947-49, 1951), Ruben Sierra (Twins 2006, Yankees 1995-96, 2003-05), Roy Smalley (Twins 1976-82, 1985-87, Yankees 1982-84), Elmer Smith (Senators 1916-1917, Yankees 1922-23), Gabby Street (Senators 1908-11, Highlanders 1912), Eric Soderholm (Twins 1971-75, Yankees 1980), Jake Stahl (Senators 1904-06, Highlanders 1908), Dick Starr (Senators 1951, Yankees 1947-48), Bud Stewart (Senators 1948-50, Yankees 1948), Steve Sundra (Senators 1941-42, Yankees 1936-40), Jesse Tannehill (Senators 1908-09, Highlanders 1903), Dick Tettelbach (Senators 1956-57, Yankees 1955), Bob Tewksbury (Twins 1997-98, Yankees 1986-87), Myles Thomas (Senators 1929-30, Yankees 1926-29), Jack Thoney (Senators 1904, Orioles/Highlanders 1902, 1904), Luis Tiant (Twins 1970, Yankees 1979-80) Cesar Tovar (Twins 1965-72, Yankees 1976), Bob Unglaub (Senators 1908-10, Highlanders 1903), Elmer Valo (Senators 1960/Twins 1961, Yankees 1960), Hippo Vaughn (Senators 1912, Highlanders 1908-12), Bobby Veach (Senators 1925, Yankees 1925), Jake Wade (Senators 1946, Yankees 1946), Danny Walton (Twins 1973, 1975, Yankees 1971), Gary Ward (Twins 1979-83, Yankees 1987-89), Jim Weaver (Senators 1928, Yankees 1931), Rondell White (Twins 2006-07, Yankees 2002), Bob Wiesler (Senators 1956-58, Yankees 1951, 1954-55), Stan Williams (Twins 1970-71, Yankees 1963-64), Archie Wilson (Senators 1952, Yankees 1951-52), Dave Winfield, HOF (Twins 1993-94, Yankees 1981-90), Barney Wolfe (Senators 1904-06, Highlanders 1903-04), Harry Wolverton (Senators 1902, Highlanders 1912), Dick Woodson (Twins 1969-70 & 1972-74, Yankees 1974), Butch Wynegar (Twins 1976-82, Yankees 1982-86), Tom Zachary (Senators 1919-25, 1927-28, Yankees 1928-29), Bill Zuber (Senators 1941-42, Yankees 1943-46). http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5505/9072066282_0579fa9611_o.jpg And thus the story goes... If you are interested, you can find more Twins history posts here. Click here to view the article

A week ago, I looked at the available starting pitchers who are free agents and I distilled the long list of names to three who the MInnesota Twins should target this off-season. The premise is that other than Alex Meyer and maybe Kyle Gibson, the Twins do not have any "sure bets" for the top of their rotation for next season and the near future that will coincide with the coming of age of uber-prospects Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton. So, in order to compete in 2014 and to not waste that future, the Twins need three starting pitchers better than Kevin Correia and Kyle Gibson (today) who will occupy the last two spots in the Twins' rotation for 2014. Download attachment: 10837295476_e3e274820d_z.jpg These pitchers should be young enough to be around for three years, maybe longer. The two other criteria I used to trim the free agent list, in addition to age (31 next season or younger) were characteristics sorely missed by the Twins' rotations since Johan Santana's departure and Fransisco Liriano's injury and eventual departure: Hard throwing (FB 92 mph or better) and striking people out (K/9 rate of eight or better.) I also excluded pitchers in rehab or mostly in the minors or in foreign leagues in 2013. From the list of 54 free agent pitchers, I ended with an "A" list of five names who meet the criteria and a "B" list of four names who meet some of the criteria. It is unlikely the Twins will acquire three free agent pitchers, yet there is a good opportunity to acquire one pitcher who would had been on the A list (and near the top of that list), were he a free agent. It's not Detroit Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello, who is potentially available and young enough, but his fastball is too slow and he does not strike enough people out to even make the "B" list. It's not Cincinnati Reds hurler Homer Bailey, who has enough characteristics to make the "A" list but likely will cost someone like Alex Meyer to acquire, which would defeat the purpose. And it's really not Tampa Bay Rays ace David Price, who would likely will cost the farm, and a bit more. Who is the mystery pitcher and what would it take for the Twins to acquire him? The Twins need to start thinking about selling high (without destroying the team) and buying low. Unfortunately this front office has not been implementing the strategy well, from the Willingham non-trade after a career season, to the clearance sale of Fransisco Liriano, to the giving up of Delmon Young, Kevin Slowey and Jim Thome. The proposed trade is Brian Dozier, Casey Fien and Darin Mastroianni to the Chicago Cubs for Jeff Samardzija. Why would the Twins want this trade? Samardzija is 29 years old, listed at 6'5" and 225 lbs, is arbitration eligible and under team control for the next 2 years. His estimated 2014 salary is an affordable $5 million. He has top of the rotation stuff, including a fastball that averages 94 mph and K/9 around or higher than nine the past three seasons. And he is durable (175 and 214 IP the last two seasons) and has a negative W-L ratio and ERA in the 4s, which are not top of the rotation results, which is the buy-low part. Given that his xFIP is about a full point lower than his ERA, his SIERA is 3.60 and his xPE (19.8) in the number 2 starter range, his actual results are worse than his potential and were likely influenced by the Cubs' bad defense and their horrible-for-pitchers ballpark. Twenty-eight-year-old Brian Dozier is coming off a career season that has cemented in the minds of many the idea that he is the Twins' second baseman of the future and the Twins should move 22-year-old Eddie Rosario back to the outfield. But Dozier's results are likely unsustainable - thus the sell high. Dozier's season with the bat, even though it seems Ruthian among the Twins' hitters, was a league average .726 OPS, resulting from a .244/.312/.414 slash line, that propelled his OPS to average because of his slugging percentage. But that slugging percentage was influenced by a ridiculous HR/FB rate that is not sustainable. If it drops a conservative 30 points and a .244/.312/.384 (with a .696 OPS) does not look quite as Ruthian. He is a prime candidate for regression - sell high. Twenty-five-year-old Eduardo Escobar, who quietly had a stellar 2013 AAA campaign and is repeating it in the Venezuela Winter League, can be an immediate replacement with potential shift to shortstop when Eddio Rosario is deemed ready, which could be as soon as September of 2014. Thirty-year-old Casey Fien, who in the minds of some is a prime candidate to be the righthanded set-up man (and whom was used partially in that role last season), is the poster boy for selling high. His peak was before the All-Star break (and the Twins lost the opportunity to trade him at the deadline before he regressed) but still has some sell high potential. I explained the reasons to sell high on Fien here then, and they stand, albeit the attractiveness is slightly reduced. The Twins have plenty of pitchers including Michael Tonkin who can replace Fien with potentially better results. Why Mastroianni? Because the 28-year-old's future with the Twins as a defensive replacement/pinch runner/fourth outfielder was nulled when the Twins acquired 25-year-old Ryan Pressly. Mastroianni might be the sweetener of the deal for the Cubs. Why would the Cubs want the trade? Samardzija has shown flashes of brilliance but he has not really translated the potential and expectations into actual wins. There is pressure to win in Chicago and the clock is winding down for the new front office leadership to produce a winner in a division where the Reds, the Cardinals and now the Pirates provide tremendous competition. Thus, the Cubs might soon be in "win-now" mode and spending some real money in free agency. Second base was a black hole for them last season. Dozier, who will likely sustain his high HR/FB rates in Wrigley, will help close that hole and continue with his stellar defense. Their 'pen was a mess and Casey Fien, with a l bit of continuation of his luck, will help them fix it. Their outfield, especially centerfield, was very inconsistent. Mastroianni can hold down centerfield in late innings for them. Also, last but not least, all three players are under club control for five years and would cost only about league minimum the first two, helping the Cubs divert that money toward the acquisition of costly free agents Is it a fair trade? On first look, five years (two at minimum wage) of each of Brian Dozier, Darin Mastroianni and Casey Fien for the last two arbitration years of Jeff Samardzija seems like a slam dunk for the Cubs. However, the Twins are buying low and selling high, making this a fair trade for both teams Just in case this happens, for the Twins' fans: The D, Z and I in Samardzija's name (whose nickname is "Shark) are silent, and pronounced Sah-MAR-jah. Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Pelfrey_Mike_Pitching_US_720.jpg There has been a lot of noise in Twins' Territory about the Minnesota Twins re-signing Mike Pelfrey, most of it negative. People see Pelfrey's 5-13 record, accompanied by a 5.19 ERA and by the long time that Pelfrey took between pitches and wonder why the Twins re-signed a guy who is perceived as no better then what they already have. I have always been a Mike Pelfrey fan and here are the reasons why his re-signing could be a steal for the Twins.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch 1. The Tommy John recovery and already achieved improvement Pelfrey threw in his first real game a record 10 months after his surgery. To put that in perspective, Fransisco Liriano had his TJS on November 6, 2006 and pitched his first spring training game on March of 2008, sixteen months later. Kyle Gibson had his on September, 2011 and pitched his first game in March, 2013, eighteen months later. 2013 was a tale of 2 halves for Pelfrey, even by the crude ERA measurement: His ERAs by month were: April 7.66, May 5.90, June 4.66, July 3.25, August 3.60 and September 7.45. In other words, if he had taken 13 months to recover and we ignore April and May, those are pretty good numbers. His September ERA (abetted by a .431 BABIP) could also have been a product of fatigue. He finished the season with a 17.9% K% in the second half, which is really encouraging and easily led the Twins' starting pitchers. If one uses advanced metrics, he also led the Twins starters in FIP (3.99) and WAR (2.1); and those are full season and not second half-only values 2. He actually has excellent stuff. We all know Pelfrey's fastball sits at 92-93 and touches mid 90s, easily the highest velocity on the Twins' 2013 rotation. Here is something very little known: he has a few other weapons that are rarely mentioned. I took all 2013 starting pitchers who pitched more than 150 innings in 2013 and sorted them by Slider Velocity. This is the resulting table: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5530/11419741106_166f96f99a_o.jpg As you can see, Mike Pelfrey has the 7th fastest slider in the majors. And this is big news. Looking at the names surrounding him, I cannot see a single name that Twins' fans would not be ecstatic to have. However, the other obvious thing from this list is that he has not been throwing his slider enough (only 9.9% of the time) and mostly relies on his fastball (72.6% of the time), unlike his peers on this list. I hope that it is elbow rehabilitation-related and the further he is removed from surgery, the more he will trust his elbow with the slider, like his peers. In addition to the fastball and slider, he has a mid 80s split finger pitch that he throws as a change up and a slow mid-70s curve, each of which he threw only about 10% of the time. 3. He was hurt by the Twins' defense. Again, I took all starters in the majors who pitched more than 150 innings and sorted them by BABIP, high to low and I also indicate WHIP. Here is the resulting table: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5515/11419724685_8f3ca87e68_z.jpg As you can see, Mike Pelfrey had the second worst BABIP in the majors. Normalize his WHIP for a league average BABIP and it comes close to Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson (normalized) levels. Why such a high BABIP? If you look at balls in play, he ranks 35th lowest (of the 96 pitchers who pitched more than 150 innings in 2013) in the percentage of line drives surrendered with 20.8%; this suggests that balls were not hit that hard. His fly ball percentage, 36.0 %, is the 35th highest in the same group. When you are a fly ball pitcher and have a combination of Willingham, Parmelee, Doumit, Arcia and Colabello at two out of three outfield positions, a lot of outs will become singles and doubles and you are about to have a high BABIP. In order to be successful in 2014, corner OF defense is something the Twins will have to address. 4. He has a lot of intangibles on his side. Pelfrey will not turn 30 until next month. He is in his prime and will be during the duration of the contract. He does not have a true change up, but has Bobby Cuellar around for 2 years and is young enough, if he wants to add one to his repertoire, to succeed at it. As I indicated here, yes, he was a human rain delay, and so were his teammates, but that was an aberration from previous seasons for him, adding a full extra 3 secondsbetween pitches. I don't know whether that is related to shaking off secondary pitches and preferring the fastball because of the elbow, as shown above, but I suspect it will improve next season. For what it's worth, my math predicts continuous improvement for Pelfrey, and my analysis on who the Twins should target in free agency had him (and Phil Hughes) on the list of eight. Also, he is a stellar clubhouse guy, a trait that has to be mentioned. At every stop in his career, teammates, managers and coaches have had only the best to say about Pelfrey. 5. The monetary risk is not very much; this is a very small contract comparatively. The annual value of Pelfrey's contact is $5.5 million if he does not meet the incentives. To put the Twins' risk in dollars in perspective: $5.5 million is the exact amount the Twins paid Nick Blackburn not to pitch in 2013. Also, if you believe in WAR-based monetary value, according to Fangraphs, Mike Pelfrey's contribution to the Twins in 2013 (a down season) was worth $10.7 million. The real point here is that the Twins will assume the risk they had when they had Nick Blackburn in 2012 and 2013. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Takoyaki_by_yomi955.jpg This is my second annual food guide to Fort Myers and the third and last in the series of the 2013 Guides to Fort Myers that include the logistics guide and the baseball guide. This one is a little different than last year's, as it is a more traditional restaurant guide. I come from a specific perspective: I do not eat red meat or fowl, so you shall not see any barbeque places, steakhouses or smokehouses. I do eat seafood, so there is a lot of this listed here. Also, I am trying to list places that are close to Hammond Stadium and the Twins' training complex. Usually, when I am there, I have breakfast at my hotel, then am at the ballparks until after the game is done and then out for dinner. I usually have "lunch" at the ballpark. Finally, at the end, I will list the Twins' players 2 favorite hangouts. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch American: Clancy's 11481 McGregor Blvd - Ft. Myers, FL (http://www.clanceysrestaurant.com/) Typical american fair. Solid food and good prices. Lots of sandwiches as well. One of the few places you can actually have Triggerfish (by name). Try it, you'd like it. Lots of big burgers as well. Fancy's Southern Cafe 8890 Salrose Lane, Fort Myers, FL (http://fancyssoutherncafe.com/) True southern comfort food. Excellent shrimp and grits, fried okra, fried green tomatoes and deep fried cheese grits, and a slew of other Southern comfort food specials. This place has something for everyone and really worth a visit. Good prices too. The Veranda. 2122 2nd St, Fort Myers, FL (http://www.verandarestaurant.com/). Exactly what you will expect from an American/Continental dinning place with southern influences in Florida. Great cuisine, huge entrees, semi-formal atmosphere and prices in the $30s unless you go the tapas way, chosing from a variety of their apperizers. Blue Crab Cake, Southern Grit Cakes, Pan seared Scallops and Artichoke Fritters (all around $10)are all highly recommended from the appetizer menu. You cannot go wrong with any entree item, but it is a lot of food. Latin American: El Patio Restaurant 4444 Cleveland Ave Fort Myers, FL Peruvian. If you have never had Peruvian food, this restaurant will be a good exuse to try. Awesome variety and prices (most entrees are under $10) and great flavor. This is the real deal. Try the seafood ceviche or one of the surf and turf mixes. El Gaucho Inca 4391 Colonial Blvd, Fort Myers, FL (http://www.elgauchoinca.com/) "Peruvian, Argentinan and Italian" food. Fancy Tango and dancing shows during dinner, the food is pretty interesting, if you like meat. If you don't there are better choices. The "Italian" part is because they serve pasta dishes. Nothing Italian to them. Stay away from those. The Argentinean dishes are pretty authentic. Super Tacos 535 Pine Island Road, (North) Fort Myers, FL (http://supertacos.net/) This is kind of far from the ballpark, but it is the best Mexican food place in Fort Myers, and this is why it is here. Fresh, fresh ingredients, large portions and great prices. Their fish tacos are some of the best and at $2.99 per, an incredible value. A variety of fairly authentic Mexican fare. Asian: Daruma Japanese Steak House (http://www.darumarestaurant.com/) 13499 S Cleveland Ave Fort Myers, FL . Pretty solid but expensive Japanese fare. On the Teppanyaki side of the house there is a great variety and great flavor. Sushi is good, if overimaginative. Kind of americanized flavors, but this is true of most asian places these days. A ton of Teppan combinations, something for everyone. Large wine and cocktail list. Try the Oysters Tempura appetizer. Total Japanese/Southern fusion. Mr. Mees 5100 S. Cleveland Ave. Ft. Myers, FL (http://www.mrmees.com/index.htm). Pan-Asian food (Japanese, Korean, Thai) and sushi. By far my favorite Asian food place in Fort Myers. Authentic Thai and Korean dishes and excellent sushi. Try the Bi Bim Bop (they make it vegetarian or with a fried egg, if you ask) or any of the Yum dishes. Both of the Bin Daduk dishes (pork & kimchee or seafood) are excellent appetizers. Osaka 16078 San Carlos Blvd. For Myers, FL (http://osakafortmyers.com/index.html) The name is kind of misleading. It in a Thai place that also offers Japanese and Sushi (because Japanese and sushi are popular these days.) Their Thai food is excellent. Try any of the Yum or the noodle dishes. Sushi and soups are good also. A vast list of appetizers can make this a good tapas/dim sum dinner place. European/Mediterranean/French: Blue Windows French Bistro. 15250 S. Tamiami Trail, Fort Myers, FL (http://www.mybluewindows.com/) Fine French Bistro Food. Four course Prix Fixe menu that changes nightly based on best available local foods for about $50 a person. Also offers a variety of tasting menus and wine pairings. Traditional a la carte continental French courses as well. Extensive wine list. Best place to burn $200 for a dinner for 2 in Fort Myers. On the other hand, that $200 is about 8 Twins' tickets. Priorities. Cibo 12901 Mcgregor Blvd, Ste 17, Fort Myers, FL (http://cibofortmyers.com/) Upscale Italian. Extensive Wine list. Extensive Antipasto list. You can potentially have a great traditional Italian meal or an excellent Tapas dinner. Sasse's 3651 Evans Avenue Fort Myers, FL (http://www.sassesfortmyers.com/) Italian with continental flair. Menu changes based on seasonal availability. Mid-priced, even offers things like Pizza. Gluten-free menu on request. Their fish/seafood soup is awesome, if you like fish of course. Seafood: Pawnbroker 13451 - 16 McGregor Blvd, Fort Myers, FL (http://www.prawnbroker.com/) Same Strip Mall as Blu Sushi (which you'll find below). Fresh seafood and a seafood counter selling fresh seafood next to it. It's a bit old-fashioned but good traditional seafood. This is the kind of place that your grandma will take you and your significant other out. Actually, that happens a lot in that place. Food is really really fresh, so enjoy. You might have to overlook the fact that you are the youngest person in the place. Even if you are in your 40s. Maria's Old Florida Restaurant; 17979 San Carlos Boulevard, Fort Myers, FL Listed as seafood here, but it really is a Creole (and some Cajun) fusion restaurant that incorporates a lot of seafood in their dishes. Interesting dishes like Cajun Shepard's Pie and Crawfish Enchiladas. Clam Bake 16520 S Tamiami Trl Ste 10, Fort Myers, FL (http://clambakefortmyers.com/) "Authentic New England Seafood". Hole in the wall place, family operated by former Rhode Islanders. They feature a variety of New England seafood like Stuffed Quahog, Clam Bakes, fried Oysters, Clams, Scallops and Shrimp, Clam Chowder, Steamed Lobster and a whole bunch of seafood sandwiches including Lobster Roll. Informal, inexpensive and great food. Blue Pointe Oyster Bar & Seafood Grill, 13499 SE Cleveland Ave Suite 141, Fort Myers, FL (http://www.bluepointerestaurant.com/). Traditional upscale great seafood place. Fresh seafood, great preparations. Grab one of the fish in the fish of the day list and get it prepared your way and you will do no wrong. Extensive wine and raw bar list. You know those seafood places that have that "steakhouse feel"? This is one of them. If this is your style, this one is a winner. My only complaint (and this is nitpicking) is that they do not use lots of local fish, but prefer northern fish. 3 Fishermen Seafood 5100 S. Cleveland Ave. Ft. Myers, FL (same strip mall as Mr. Mees - actually a couple doors down.) (http://www.threefishermenseafood.com/) Casual, inexpensive and great food. A tip: even if it's not on the menu (they have it as one of their rotating specials), ask for grilled grouper tacos. You will not regret it. Big enough for two or a hungry teenager. Great shimp dishes and their signature is the Captain Paul’s Grouper. Great smoked fish dip as well. I really like this place. Local Hangouts: CRaVE: 12901 McGregor Boulevard, Fort Myers, FL (http://cravemenu.com/) Not to be confused with the American Bistro chain with the same name. Fresh, local and organic food. Bistro feel. Great appetizers and well known for their sandwiches and salads. Lots of interesting takes on confort food like Meatloaf, Shepherd's Pie, Pot Roast and Pot Pie. Great Omelets for breakfast. Two Meatballs in the Kitchen. 8890 Salrose Ln Fort Myers, FL (http://www.2meatballs.com/) Typical Northeast Italian Food and Pizza. Plentiful sizes, huge variety, usually packed. Part of a local trifecta of restaurants that includes Taste of New York and Bella Rosa, the Two Meatballs is the most casual and busy of the 3. If you crave Northeast Italian-American food, this is your place. Pincher's Crab Shack 15271 McGregor Boulevard Fort Myers, FL (http://www.pincherscrabshack.com/) Seafood but I am listing it here because this place rocks on happy hour. Indoor-outdoor seating, great fresh food, very good beer list and lots of mixed drinks. Grouper tacos are really awesome here. Very close to the ballpark as well. Chains of note: Bahama Breeze: 14701 S Tamiami Trl, Fort Myers, FL (http://www.bahamabreeze.com/) Caribbean-inspired food. Large variety of appetizers and small plates. Go for the fresh fish and make sure that it is something that exists in FL, like Grouper or Snapper, otherwise pass on the Mahi and farmed Salmon. Bunch of cocktails too. It's ok, nothing spectacular, but interesting variety of food. Lots of rum-based drinks, if you are into that kind of thing. Cantina Laredo 5200 Big Pine Way, Fort Myers, FL (http://www.cantinalaredo.com/) Their Motto is "Modern Mexican" and that it is. And it has solid food. But expensive food. Tex Mex and flavorful. Lots of people love it. For me it is to Mexican what PF Chang's (which is also in Fort Myers, I think) is to Chinese. Grimaldi's Coal Brick-Oven Pizzeria. 13499 S Cleveland Ave Fort Myers, FL (http://www.grimaldispizzeria.com/) As close to authentic New York style pizza as you can get in Florida because it started in Brooklyn. Small chain. Definitely worth a look if you are into pizza. Simple, traditional, nothing fusion here. Sweet Tomatoes: 14080 South Tamiami Trail, Fort Myers, FL (http://www.souplantation.com/) Soup, Pasta and Salad bar. Fresh budget food with a lot of choices. Pizza Fusion 12901 McGregor Blvd. Fort Myers, FL (http://pizzafusion.com/) This is the exact opposite of Grimaldi's. Organic crusts, organic toppings, interesting varieties and pizzas that look like flat breads (long and skinny.) Great flavors. Try the pear and gorgonzola, if you look for something different. The best places to rub shoulders with Twins' major and minor leaguers: As far as young single major leaguers and AAA players (like Luke Hughes, Danny Valencia, Drew Butera etc last season) and bonus-babies go, it is Blu Sushi 13451 McGregor Blvd Fort Myers, FL (http://www.blusushi.com/). Overimaginitive Sushi and Martini menu, really caters to the 20-something crowd. Fresh and flavorful. And Hip Crowd. As far as older players with families and younger minor leaguers go, it is Patinella's Chicken Grill 6810 Shoppes At Plantation Dr Fort Myers, FL (http://www.patinellaschickengrill.com/) or "The Chicken Grill" on Plantation Shoppes Drive. They offer grilled cut chicken on rice bowls with a bunch of veggies in different flavors or flatbread sandwiches. Pretty healthy fare for ballplayers. A note about beer and wine: In Florida beer and wine can be sold in places like gas stations and grocery stores. Most drug stores have adjunct liquer stores that sell the aforementioned plus liquor. The best beer variety is in grocery stores, and from those Publix tends to have more microbrews than the others. Because of the competition, the prices are fairly good, on the $7-10 range for a microbrew six pack. Click here to view the article

Another bug (or maybe a feature, still different than before.) In the latest posts box to the right, previously there were shown by latest posts per thread, now they are regardless the thread. This results in having links to the same thread more than once (and if it happens to be game time, 5 links to game thread only.)