Thrylos

Less than a month for Pitchers and Catchers to report to Fort Myers so it is about time for you to make your arrangements to see your Minnesota Twins. That means it's time for the second annual Fort Myers Guides. This season there will be three guides and will be different than last year's. I now go to the Central and South Central Florida area multiple times per month, so I have a list of additional tips. This will be the first guide: The Spring Training Logistics Guide, where the area is described and the best and least expensive ways of getting to the Twins' Spring Training home are explained. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Knowing what I know now last season, I could have saved at least a couple hundred dollars in airfare, at least that much in a hotel and about that much in a car rental, money better spent watching the Twins and buying Twins' (and Miracle) gear. As a bonus, I will list the official Twins' hotel, which is the place where a lot of Twins' people stay and a great place to rub elbows with Twins' players and staff. Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch The second guide will talk about what to do once you are there. This is all about baseball. What is going on at the Training Complex, tips and tricks about watching the games at Hammond Stadium (based on my fresh experience from last year) and other ballparks you might want to visit. This with be the Spring Training Baseball Guide. The third guide will be a Food Guide to Fort Myers, but changed from last season's. Last season's was cuisine-specific and I think that it is still a valuable resource. This season will be more restaurant-specific. As a bonus, I will list established hangouts of Twins' players. These guides are mainly from the Twins' perspective but useful for Red Sox' (and soon Nationals') fans How To Get There: Unless you want to have a non-rental car with you (a good choice if you are a player or will be there for a month or so, or you live close to Fort Myers) flying is probably the best choice. There is a local airport (Southeast Florida International, code: RSW) served by a variety of airlines, but there are a total of about 75 flights a day into and out from there. Alternative airports are the larger Tampa International (TPA) and Miami International (MIA), about 2 and 2.5 hrs drive respectively. The Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) is slightly over an hour drive from Fort Myers and is a slightly larger airport than the Southwest Florida International at Fort Myers. Fort Lauderdale (FLL) is also an option, and a potentially fairly attractive one if your home airport has airlines like Frontier, Spirit and Allegient and you are willing to fly them, because they have inexpensive and relatively frequent flights there. Flying into Fort Myers is probably the most expensive option in the list but you do not have to drive far. Also, be aware that the TSA checkpoints in the return trip are a mess. Budget an extra hour to go through. But my favorite option (and what I am doing this year?) is Orlando. Orlando International (MCO) is about 3 hrs away from Fort Myers, but it offers the benefit of having the lowest airfare and lowest car rental prices in Florida, in combination to more that 60 mainstream carrier flights daily. Plus, as a bonus, if you have a family, you can spend a few days there with the kids, which will help them palate more 8+ hrs of baseball-related stuff that you would do once at Fort Myers. As far as airfare prices go and where to find the best ones, go to the ITA Matrix software portal, chose the "show a calendar of lowest fares" and play with it. This is the tool that travel agents are using. Once you find a flight, go online to the airline or an online travel agency and reserve it. My fares in and out of MCO have been in the $150-200 range from the North East, but YMMV depending on departing city. Cars As far as rental cars go (and you do need one since the public transportation in Fort Myers is non-existent,) the best value in Florida is Dollar. And here is a trick: go to the Dollar web site and register to be an express member for free. This way you will have the car waiting in a predetermined spot and you by-pass the counter. Next, make your reservation by viewing all car types and picking the least expensive option. Once you make your reservation, check it often and early and "modify" it to see if there are any lower prices posted. Dollar is notorious of dropping their car prices, especially close to the reservation dates. I usually rent cars at about $12-16 a day. But you have to check and change those prices a lot. Refuse the automatic toll machine ($8ish/day) and the GPS ($13ish a day) and deal with the insurance as you normally do (i.e. if you refuse because you are covered by your own car, refuse it.) Driving There If you want to drive down there, the fastest was to get there is via I-75 that goes through the town. From most points of the Midwest or Northwest, the best way to catch I-75 is around the Metro Atlanta area. From South and South West, I-10 hits I-75 in North Florida about an hour east of Jacksonville. From the East Coast, the best bet would be I-95 all the way to Daytona Beach, then I-4 through Orlando and catching I-75 at Tampa. If you live at the Twin Cities area, Minneapolis is about 1700 miles away from Fort Myers, which means about 3 days of 8 hours driving each, each way. Enjoy This is a map of South & Central Florida, to let you see where Fort Myers is situated in Florida (all maps and satellite images used in this post are screen shots from Bing maps) : http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7210/6870615689_9c49c11ca4_z.jpg The Metro Area and the City: Fort Myers (and, btw, it is not Ft. Myers) is the smallest of three cities in the Fort Myers-Cape Coral Metropolitan area. It has about 62,000 people, whereas the Metro has about 650,000 people most of them living in Cape Coral, a city planned and started in the late 50s as a huge retirement community. Interestingly enough the planners wanted to make every property close to water, so they created and extensive system of Canals. Cape Coral has more miles of navigable waterways than any city in the world, including Venice (Italy, not FL) and Amsterdam. About 400 miles of canals. Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island and Pine Island are popular beach front communities with a lot of beach-related tourism. Here is a photo of the Cape Coral- Fort Myers metro: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7041/6870615619_08f2faa40c_z.jpg An important note, especially to people from northern climates: average temperatures in March are 80 for high and 60 for low, so make sure that you pack sunscreen, hats, glasses, shorts, t-shirts and a swimsuit, if you are so inclined. And if you get sunburns, you will get a sunburn there, so please plan accordingly. The city of Fort Myers itself is very easily navigated. Here is a map of the City with the Twins' Spring Training Headquarters noted with an orange Marker: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7188/6870615475_684c7baa2a_z.jpg You can click here for a larger picture in a new window. Where to Stay: The Fort Myers Airport is about 6 miles due west from Hammonds Stadium and the Spring Training Complex. Daniels Parkway (that becomes Cypress Lake Dr in the City) will take you from the Airport to the town and the Twins' complex. If you are on a budget and looking for a hotel, the ones on Daniels Parkway and that area west of I-75 offer good bargains and are fairly close to the Twins' Spring Training Complex. Another area for reasonable accommodations is the S. Cleveland Avenue North of Page Field. Mostly everything can be found within a large triangle defined by S. Cleveland Ave to the West, Colonial Blvd to the North and the Ben C. Pratt Pkwy going Northeast to Southwest. The Twins' Spring training complex is on the South part of Ben C. Pratt Pkwy, just South of Daniels Pkwy. Traffic, other than when the games are over, is not an issue at Fort Myers. If you want to rub elbows with Twins' players and staff, the Twins' official/unofficial hotel in the Fort Myers' area is the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Myers (not the one by the airport, but the one "in town"). Alternatively you can stay at Naples (offers more things to do at night) or Port Charlotte (offers less expensive rooms and it is the Rays' Spring Training Home). Both are about half an hour easy drive away. The best bargains for Hotels (unless you are a frequent guest and can use points for free rooms) are either Hotwireor Hotels.com, but the establishments are sometimes name-less so it can be a gamble. On the other hand, if you stay pretty close to the ballpark and away from the downtown area, there are not any seedy places. This year I will be staying at Port Charlotte and will be watching some Twins' games there as visitors as well. The Twins' Spring Training Complex: Here is a satellite image of the Lee County Sports Complex: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7062/6870615187_617fab61b1_b.jpg More about the complex, how and when to get there and all the things about the Twins' Spring Training home in the next guide. Click here to view the article

I'd rather see Hicks in the majors and Santana in AAA. The Twins' brain trust is having Hicks "finding" his swing in AA (and I guess .285/.392/.423 means that it is still lost for someone) while having a marginal SS prospect learn how to play CF in the majors. Alrighty. Seriously, the blocking is a bit less of a problem this season, compared to other things...

Sunday was Minnesota Day at Hammond Stadium, which apparently means that a whole bunch of people get early at the ballpark to tailgate at the parking lot and is a pain to find parking spots. I arrived just in time for the two intrasquad games[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] (AAA vs AA) and (A+ vs A) at Fields number 2 and 3. Aaron Hicks was hitting for the AA team and Pedro Florimon was playing for the AAA team, so that is where I exclusively spent my time before I was headed to the ballpark for the Twins and Marlins game. Alex Meyer was pitching and he was practically unhittable and a strike out machine, other than a long home run by Mike Gonzalez who looks in shape this season and will likely split the 1B/DH duties with Kennys Vargas in New Britain. I am not going to give a scouting report on Meyer, it is unnecessary, but he was on top of his game and hitting his spots with ease. I have not noticed before, but he does this weird thing with his mouth when he pitches: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3798/13202258975_13733a8555_z.jpg ~~~ Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ~~~ Aaron Hicks did not play at the field but was the second batter in every inning for the AA squad and did nothing in 3 innings against Alex Meyer. However, when he was replaced in the fourth, Hicks hit a long home run in dead center off Yohan Pino. Pino was not quite as good as I remember him to be, his control was just not there. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3692/13202410003_9f0ae157f5_z.jpg Speaking of not good, BJ Hermsen started for the AA team and he was, well, not good. It was amazing that he has been the Twins' minor league pitcher of the year in the past as well as having a spot on the 40-man roster. I am not sure what has happened to him, but it is not pretty. He was hit hard by every Rochester player, allowing multiple home runs and extra base hits. Even Pedro Florimon hit a triple off him in one plate appearance and struck out (a feat by itself because Hermsen struck out 3.7 AA hitters per 9 innings last season) in another. http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2791/13202269605_990e787851_z.jpg And if you are a major leaguer, this is how you go from the back fields to Hammond Stadium: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2849/13202271055_90f257ba1d_z.jpg Some additional tidbits from the intrasquad game: Evan Bigley played CF for Rochester today. With Mastroianni back there tomorrow, I do not think that this will be a common sighting. Bigley was fine at the field and made a couple good catches and looked good at the plate as well. I think that this is a make or break season for him. This off-season the Twins picked up 28 year old CJ Ziegler, the Independent American Association MVP (.318/.408/.645 with 30 HRs and 99 RBI in 100 games,) hoping it will be Chris Colabello's second coming. Ziegler is listed at 6'5", 245 lbs, but he is a much bigger man. Think of a righty Jim Thome. It will be interesting to see how he does in Rochester http://farm4.staticf...019744e17_z.jpg Cole Johnson came to relieve BJ Hermsen and I think that he might be a sleeper. Very lanky righty with easy delivery, throwing almost side arm and good movement. Not a mph guy, but good solid stuff and looks like he got a good feel for pitching. He struck out 11 per 9 innings last season in AA, so he might be doing something right. The 44th round pick from Notre Dame in 2011 has been flying under the radar so far, but he might be someone to pay attention to this season. Back at the Hammond Stadium the Twins hosted the Marlins, which resulted in a pitching matchup between a former Twins Ace http://farm3.staticf...b17fb65c1_z.jpg and the current Twins' Ace. http://farm3.staticf...285a2225c_z.jpg It was a pitching duel through five with each of the starters giving one run a piece and each of the starters topping out at 92 mph (which is quite a feat for Slowey.) Ricky Nolasco was very impressive in that he has a repertoire of 5 (or so) pitches and he is throwing them any time in the count. His change up (79-81) was particularly impressive today. He will be the Twins' opening day starter and I predict a great season for him. Both Jasons (Kubel and Bartlett) reached base today (a rarity for these guys) on walks. Despite Twins' fans rooting for them to make the team, I think that their best days are well behind them and that they are not major league caliber players at this point. Aaron Hicks came in for Alex Presley and had a nice double. At this point, I think that it is not even close between these two. In addition to Presley having an anemic bat this Spring and misjudging balls at the outfield, at one point in a single at mid-depth, he bounced the throw to the cutoff man. An arm reminiscent of Ben Revere. Speaking of feats, at some point Josh Willingham hit a strong liner that hugged the right field line. I was thinking triple all the way as soon as it left his bat, but he managed to get thrown out at second base. Unacceptable at pro ball. Maybe the thing in his back pocket was weighing him down... http://farm4.staticf...6c27d43f_z.jpg Monday the Twins are scheduled to play the Orioles in Sarasota and it will be a full day of minor league coverage from Fort Myers for me. Click here to view the article

The (big) boys were out of town today and this left only the two A-level squads in action at the Lee County Sports Complex fields, playing the A and Advanced A level Orioles' squads. One of the things that needs to be noted is that these squads do not see each other in regular season competition. The Twins' Advanced A team, the Fort Myers Miracle, is in the Florida State League, whereas the Orioles' Advanced A team, the Frederick Keys, is in the Carolina League. The Twins' A team, the Cedar Rapids Kernels, is in the Midwest League and the O's A team, the Delmarva Shorebirds, is in the Southern Atlantic League. Even their higher level short season teams are in different leagues: The Elizabethton Twins are in the Rookie Appalachian League, whereas as the Aberdeen IronBirds are in the Short-Season A, New York-Pennsylvania League. So the players (and the coaches) are not really familiar with each other. ~~~ Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ~~~ Another fun thing about today was that there were nine of my top 40 Twins' prospects playing today and at least 3 more players who will receive consideration for next season: Numbers 8 (Jose Berrios), 10 (Stephen Gonsalves), 11 (Ryan Eades), 12 (Felix Jorge), 13 (Travis Harrison), 16 (Max Kepler), 18 (Adam Walker), 24 (DJ Hicks) and 26 (Tyler Duffey). Here is what I saw from them today: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3695/13177436535_d31d13bbae_z.jpg Jose Berrios, was on top of his game. He probably gained a couple inches of height from last season and his fastball has gained a few notches. He was throwing easy 94-96 mph four seamers, his curveball was its usual plus pitch (but probably the third best curve by a Twins' pitcher today; more on that later) and his changeup is improving. He struck out the side in the first inning and cruised after that. He is a solid pitcher for that number 8 ranking, who might move a bit higher if he shows some endurance and pitches a bunch of innings at Fort Myers this season. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7194/13177710964_681d1eb16c_z.jpg Stephen Gonsalves, my 10th ranked prospect, threw the single nastiest pitch on both fields today: his 12-6 slow 69-73 mph curveball is a devastating pitch. And coming from a tall lanky lefty who is all arms and legs, it is even harder to hit. A solid 89-91 mph two seamer and a good high 70s changeup complement his offerings. I have Gonsalves as the highest ranked LHP prospect in the Twins' system, and unless I get really flabbergasted by Luis Thorpe, it will remain the case. That curveball (or any plus plus secondary "out" pitch) is very hard to develop, while adding MPH on one's fastball is easier. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7256/13177422415_6ab89bd344_z.jpg I admit that I also got a bit of heat when I ranked Ryan Eades as the Twins' 11th best prospect. And the reasons I did are the same reasons that today I think that the ranking is pretty good. He is a very polished pitcher with at least 4 above average pitches. His bread and butter is a 89-92 mph two seamer with crazy movement. Think Deduno, but with better control. Today, the results were not good because he had to throw up in the zone because the home plate umpire did not call the low strike at all, but this is a plus pitch at that level. Add above average to plus slow curve, cutter/slider and change and you get a complete pitcher. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7077/13177704344_8de105fdd3_z.jpg Felix Jorge (my number 12 prospect) is a guy who a lot of people think is throwing high 90s heat because of the sound of the ball when it hits the glove. He also has a nice frame and fluid delivery and looks like he can throw fast. Hereis my mini scouting report in the prospect rankings (go to number 12.) His fastball touched 92 today, but it is a really heavy sinker. This guy is a worm killer. Great downward movement and good horizontal tailing. The breaking ball (called it a slurve back then and I still stand by that) is tight. Second best breaking ball today. Very easy delivery. I think the changeup will improve and I bet he has a four-seamer in his back pocket. Really. http://farm3.staticf...369d18d21_z.jpg Keeping with the pitchers and skipping up to number 26: It was good to see Tyler Duffey pitch and I have this feeling in the back of my head he will be a reliever again. His fastball was up to 95; this is about 4 mph more than his average last season. And that was a very effective pitch. He is also throwing a slider and change, both of which are above average. As far as the position players go: These two guys (who were first and second on one of the most meaningless stats - RBIs - in the Twins' organization last season) look even bigger this season. Florida State League beware. http://farm4.staticf...aa5964146_z.jpg http://farm4.staticf...01f6f072c_o.jpg Travis Harrison is in incredible shape. The last couple seasons, he was the prototypical slow power hitter guy, even as a teenager, making people think that he is a corner OF/1B/DH type. This season the Fort Myers (and likely New Britain) fans will be in for a treat. Today he legged out a triple and he has much better range in the field. A total delight to see. Dark horse to shoot up the prospect rankings big time. And he hit in the second hole tonight. Speaking of people who will shoot up the rankings (at least mine) here are 3: Engelb Vielma. This is the single most unknown superstar-in-the-making in the Twins' organization. He turned two unassisted double plays (one a line out/throw out the other a step on second throw at first) today and he made them seem so easy. Like it's an everyday kind of thing. Looks like his contact tool is getting better. He has crazy, nutty speed and as a cutoff guy, he almost threw a guy out at third on a easy triple. Very strong arm. And he has room to grow. I think he will move into second in my SS rankings after 6th overall ranked Jorge Polanco. http://farm4.staticf...8502e87ee_z.jpg The other two guys are catchers who just look like ball players: Brian Navarreto (pictured below) and Mitch Garver. All of a sudden, I think the Twins are all right in catcher depth. http://farm8.staticf...e4095c29d_z.jpg Click here to view the article

I posted this a week ago or so in my blog, but I am reposting it here as well in case folks were interested in going down to Fort Myers for Spring Training this spring. As I promised last Sunday, I have been working on two Spring Training Guides: a General Guide to Fort Myers and a more specific food guide (edit: the Fort Myers Culinary Guide is now up - 2/17/2012). This is the first one and I will cover the area, the town, Hammond Stadium and other places to catch Twins' spring training games. These guides could be useful to Red Sox fans' as well, but I am focusing on the Twins' point of view. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] How to get there: Unless you want to have a non-rental car with you (a good choice if you are a player or will be there for a month or so, or you live close to Fort Myers) flying is probably the best choice. There is a local airport (Southeast Florida International, code: RSW) served by a variety of airlines, but there are only about 75 flights a day there. Alternative airports are the larger Tampa International (TPA) and Miami International (MIA), about 2 and 2.5 hrs drive respectively. Orlando could also be a choice, but the drive is 3 hrs. The Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) is slightly over an hour drive from Fort Myers and a slightly larger airport than the Southwest Florida International at Fort Myers. If you want to drive, the fastest way to get there is via I-75 that goes through the town. From the Midwest or Northwest, the best way is to catch I-75 around the Metro Atlanta area. From South and South West, I-10 hits I-75 in North Florida about an hour east of Jacksonville. From the East Coast, the best bet would be I-95 all the way to Daytona Beach, then I-4 through Orlando and catching I-75 at Tampa. If you live in the Twin Cities area, Minneapolis is about 1700 miles away from Fort Myers, which means about 3 days of 8 hours driving each, each way. This is a map of South & Central Florida, to let you see where Fort Myers is situated in Florida (all maps and satellite images used in this post are screen shots from Bing maps) : http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7210/6870615689_9c49c11ca4_z.jpg The Metro Area and the City: Fort Myers (and, btw, it is not "Ft." Myers) is the smallest of 3 cities in the Fort Myers-Cape Coral Metropolitan area. It has about 62,000 people, whereas the Metro has about 650,000 people with most of them living in Cape Coral, a city planned and started in the late 50s as a huge retirement community. The planners wanted to make every property close to water, so they created an extensive system of canals. Cape Coral has more miles of navigable waterways than any city in the world, including Venice (Italy, not FL) and Amsterdam. That's about 400 miles of canals. Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island and Pine Island are popular beach front communities with a lot of beach-related tourism. <P> Here is a photo of the Cape Coral- Fort Myers metro: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7041/6870615619_08f2faa40c_z.jpg An important note, especially to people from northern climates: average temperatures in March are 80 for high and 60 for low, so make sure that you pack sunscreen, hats, glasses, shorts, t-shirts and a swimsuit, if you are so inclined. The city of Fort Myers itself is very easily navigated. Here is a map of the City with the Twins' Spring Training Headquarters noted with an orange marker: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7188/6870615475_684c7baa2a_z.jpg You can click here for a larger picture The Airport is about 6 miles due west from Hammond Stadium and the Spring Training Complex. Daniels Parkway (that becomes Cypress Lake Dr in the City) will take you from the Airport to the town and the Twins' complex. If you are on a budget and looking for a hotel, the hotels on Daniels Parkway and that area west of I-75 offer good bargains and are fairly close to the Twins' Spring Training Complex. Another area for reasonable accommodations is the S. Cleveland Avenue North of Page Field. Mostly everything can be found within a large triangle defined by S. Cleveland Ave to the West, Colonial Blvd to the North and the Ben C. Pratt Pkwy going Northeast to Southwest. The Twins' Spring training complex is on the South part of Ben C. Pratt Pkwy, just South of Daniels Pkwy. The Twins' Spring Training Complex Here is a satellite image of the Lee County Sports Complex: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7062/6870615187_617fab61b1_b.jpg 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, esp. if it is busy. Miracle on 34th St divides the Twins' part of the complex from the four county softball fields. 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 available. 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 Ball Parks in FSL, sitting up to 8500 people. http://farm8.staticf...8962df2e6_z.jpg As with most minor league stadiums, most sitting is on the infield between the two dugouts. Hammond Stadium has a nose bleed 2xx level as well and a small grassy field on short right field for fans to sit picnic style. Spring training tickets cost from $25-28 to $10 or so, depending on the opponent. 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. They only sell Pepsi products as far as soft drinks go. I will have a food guide within a week (edit: now published), 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 containing more calories that the average developing world person eats in a week. Here is the seating guide from the Miracle web site. Also, this is a great article about Hammond Stadium with a lot of detail about the ball park. Other things: Last but not least, the Twins do not play home games every day. So what to do on an off day? I would chose from one of the following two things: either drive to the complex trying to catch minor leaguers and non-traveling major leaguers in action or drive to watch the road 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. The next installment will be a food guide (of sorts.) Please feel free to comment and/or share any experiences you had with Spring Training in Fort Myers. Click here to view the article

I started the Twins mock 2013 draft a week ago, suggesting that they should select Sean Manaea with their first round and fourth overall pick. A couple days ago I presented the second to fifth round picksfor the Twins in this mock draft, and now I am concluding with picks from the 6th to the 12 round. As I indicated in the first pick presentation, like every other mock draft out there, unless someone can see all the draft boards of all teams, this is a purely recreational endeavor. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ~~~ Originally posted at The Tenth Inning Stretch ~~~ A reminder of the picks so far: Round 1 (4 overall) Sean MenaeaLHP, Indiana State Round 2, (43 overall): Hunter Dozier, SS, Stephen F. Austin State Round 3, (78 overall) Andrew Knapp, C, Cal Round 4 (110 overall) Edwin Diaz, SS, Ladislau Martinez Otero HS, Puerto Rico Round 5 (140 overall) DJ Snelten, LHP, Minnesota And the new picks: Round 6 (170 overall) Mike Wagner, RHP, San Diego Starter turned closer turned starter again. Plus plus fastball (peaking in high 90s) and average slider; could be a starter if he develops a third offering and improves his slider, otherwise a solid back of the pen guy. Here is a 10 minute scouting video: (EDIT: for some reason I cannot include videos here, please go to the original post if you would like to see the video) http://media.utsandiego.com/img/photos/2012/05/13/UTI1645565_r620x349.JPG Round 7 (200 overall) Xavier Fernandez, C, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy Strong righty out of Puerto Rico. 6' 210 lbs and growing. Good hand eye coordination, projected to hit with power. Natural in the catcher position, but still pretty raw. Not on many radars, but well worth the pick for an organization starved for catchers. Round 8 (230 overall) Mike Yastrzemski, OF Vanderbilt The Twins' love bloodlines, and there is nothing like that of a Hall of Famer. Carl's grandson was drafted by the Red Sox in 2009 in the 30th round and by the Mariners last season in the same round but did not sign. This season he will be drafted higher, because his plate discipline, fielding and contact has improved. He might be a reach in the 8th round, but he is Yaz's grandson, which beats being Liddle's nephew, also from Vanderbilt, who in 2009 was picked in the 15th round by the Twins. Mike was raised by his grandfather after his father died from a heart attack in 2004 (not a pretty story ). He is a senior and will get drafted. He has his grandfather's size (5'10", 185) and is a lefty hitter and thrower. http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2012/0806/bos_a_yastrzemski1x_300.jpg Round 9 (260 overall) Marcos Ventura OF/1B Puerto Rico Baseball Academy This is the third Puerto Rican High School kid I project the Twins will select and for good reason: If Dave Ortiz is Big Papi and Kennys Vargas Little Papi, Marcos Ventura is Baby Papi. Tremendous physique for a growing 17 year old (6'3" 220), with a lot of power now and potential for more. Fielding is a work in process, like the aforementioned two Puerto Ricans, but the lefty will have a job given his bat. http://www.perfectgame.org/images/profilepics/12carib-wh20.jpg Round 10 (290 overall) Weston WilsonSS/3B Wesleyan Christian Academy (NC) 6'3" 190 lbs right, committed to Clemson so he will probably have to be over slot to sign. Good hands, good range and looks like a natural on the field, but some feel he is already too big for shortstop. Pretty good with the bat utilizing all fields, but his bat needs to mature. http://d3fsqtc6sy2z2...4b3a4974c_large Round 11 (320 overall) Tyler O'Neill C/SS Maple Ridge H.S. (BC, Canada) Strong Canadian righty who started as a SS and has ended up behind the plate. Not an unusual combination, a lot like former Minnesota Twins' C Jose Morales. Hereis a story on him from last season. Committed to Oregon State, so a team will probably have to go over slot even this late in the draft. Needs to mature with the bat a bit. http://ts4.mm.bing.n...&h=185&c=7&rs=1 Here is a short video: (EDIT: for some reason I cannot include videos here, please go to the original post if you would like to see the video) Round 12 (350 overall ) Billy Waltrip LHP Oklahoma Closest comparables: Scott Diamond and Pedro Hernandez. 6'2", 215 Lefty with a 87-89 mph FB with good command, above average curve and work in process change up. Drafted by the Orioles in the 12th round last season but did not sign. He will this season. Unlike in 2012, he has lost his starting job due to some loss of command and has been pitching out of the Sooner's pen. A Twins' kind of guy who will be hard for them to pass up at this spot. His 2013 stats are here. http://coachesaid.co...fort-gibson.jpg Here is a 3.5 minute video of Waltrip pitching in a game: (EDIT: for some reason I cannot include videos here, please go to the original post if you would like to see the video) This post completes the 2013 Twins mock draft selections. As a reminder, you can find all 2013 MLB draft related posts here. Click here to view the article

Looks good, much cleaner, but navigation is a bear Got used to the latest forum posts on the right hand side, now it seems that only articles are there. Also the RSS feed for external Twins' blogs is gone. Miss that too. Guess it will take some time to get used to it.

I think that individual freedoms are not at play here at all. Anyone can do whatever they want at their own time and place. I cannot think of any workplaces (maybe cigar stores?) that smoking or chewing is allowed. It is a workplace issue. Get it out of there.

This is a very deep system and more talented pitchers than Lee have been omitted as well. His k rate is sub par and his WHIP is about average his stuff is not great as well and he has been average age for the leagues he was playing. Situational lefty is his ceiling I am afraid. Wheeler and Melotakis, fellow FSL LHPs are better prospects and also left out.

I am aware of his procedure. He is not a pitcher. 90% of hitters who have this procedure return to normal levels within 6 months. His was mid February so look at him to play mid August and winter ball. Similar situation with Sano. No long term effects Google batter's shoulder and pubmed and look at the first 2-3 studies if you don't believe me. I am really high on him like I have been with Vargas and Pinto the past 2-3 years.

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ----- I released my extensive off-season 2014 Minnesota Twins top 40 prospect list last winter. You can find the full off-season 1-40 list and links to individual reports on each prospect here. The 2014 draft is over, I have seen several Twins' prospects play for the first time last Spring, and the full season 2014 minor league seasons are close to mid-point, so it is time to revisit the Twins' prospects and release my mid-season top 40 list. This is a preliminary list, which means that there are not full reports about each player, as I do that during the off-season, and several players have not even appeared in a single game. Housekeeping notes: in parenthesis there is the off-season prospect ranking. When a player was with the Twins but not ranked in the top 40, there is (---) and if a player was not with the Twins then, there is the (NEW) indication. Players who have played in the majors (Danny Santana, Logan Darnell and Mike Tonkin notably) are not included in this list. Also, as a reminder, my criteria are slightly different that others' (e.g I value actual results at a higher competition level more than most) and the Twins have such a deep system, that some players who are listed in other lists and/or have been drafted in early rounds recently or have received large international signing bonuses will be conspicuously absent from this list. Without further ado, with some one-liner commentary about my thought process: 1. Miguel Sano 3B (1) 2. Byron Buxton OF (2) I felt I should not punish these guys for getting hurt. On the other hand, having Tommy John surgery due to repetitive injury, and re-injuring you wrist sliding and being out because of it, are two different situations. I did think hard about dropping Buxton to number three because of injury prone-ness and lack of execution in the games he played so far, but I did not. However, the distance from Sano, which was not much before, is larger now because of those reasons. 3. Alex Meyer RHP (3) The best arm in this list and in the organization 4. Trevor May RHP (9) The second most MLB-ready pitcher in the list and the first starter. Made the jump up here because he finally broke through to the next level as a pitcher in AAA 5. Kennys Vargas 1B/DH (7) The most MLB-ready bat in the list, Kennys will likely replace Kendrys as the full time DH in 2015 and his bat can play in the majors right now. 6. Jorge Polanco SS (6) Playing full time shortstop and while there are some concerns about his sure-handedness with the glove, he has one of the best contact tools in the organization 7. Kohl Stewart EHP (5) He dropped simply because of the strikeout rate decrease and because he has proven that he is touchable in Cedar Rapids. There is time to remedy that the rest of the season 8. Nick Gordon SS (NEW) The 5th overall draft pick for the Twins in 2014. Good tool set. If he can stick at SS and show that he can make contact in the pros, he will stay a top prospect 9. Jose Berrios RHP (8) If anything, Berrios has been better this season. Just there are others ahead of him in this deep organization at this point. 10. Eddie Rosario OF (4) The drop is not as much about the suspension, it is mostly about the position change. A second baseman with his contact skill and speed is much more rare and valuable than an outfielder. So part on Rosario, bigger part on the Twins. 11. Amaurys Minier 1B/3B (14) Fully expect that he will have a monster season coming up 12. Max Kepler OF/1B (16) 13. Adam Walker OF (17) 14. Nick Burdi RHP (NEW) The Twins' 2014 second round pick, is ["upset"] that he was selected that low and he is the most MLB-ready pitcher in this list. With an 103 mph fastball and low to mid 90s slider he can probably be as effective (or more) as any RHP in the Minnesota Twins' bullpen today. If he harness his changeup, he will be a dominant closer for a long time. I should probably have ranked him higher in the list, and this might happen in the off-season. 15. Lewis Thorpe LHP (18) Highest LHP in this ranking and in most Twins' prospect lists 16. Travis Harrison OF (13) Change in position hurts his ranking 17. Mitch Garver C (---) The Twins' 9th round pick in the 2013 draft was not much on the radar this off-season. Really impressed my this Spring Break with his bat, his athleticism and his ability to handle pitchers, and is the best position player in Cedar Rapids so far, thus he is my highest ranked catching prospect in the Twins' organization 18. Mike Cederoth RHP (NEW) The Twins' 3rd round pick in 2014 is another triple digit FB/slider pitcher who has drawn comparisons to Stephen Strausberg. Unlike Burdi, he has the potential to be a starter, but his stuff is a tick lesser than Burdi's. Signability is an issue. If he signs and turns into a starter and develops a third pitch, he will jump up in this list 19. Ryan Eades RHP (11) 20. Stephen Gonsalves LHP (10) These guys suffered a sizeable drop because they really did not show me much during Spring Training and Eades has not performed in the Midwest League as expected. 21. Engelb Vielma SS (---) Another player who was flying under the radar last season who impressed me this Spring. Excellent speed and great instincts both with the glove and on the base paths. He can be a starting shortstop in the majors right now, but his bat will look like Florimon's, if not like Deduno's. He needs to cultivate his hitting ability. Young and very slim, he can fill in. 22. Nico Goodrum IF (27) Starting as the every day third baseman for the Miracle, the former 2010 second round draft pick who has disappointed so far, might actually start to show his potential making solid contact and being fine with the glove. 23. Felix Jorge RHP (12) Same situation as Eades. Disappointing season, but his spring was excellent. Might be a temperature issue. 24. Lewin Diaz 1B (NEW) The seventeen year old who was signed as an international free agent last July has started his pro career in the DSL and it will be a good one. A lot like Minier with the bat 25. AJ Achter RHP (---) Achter has been quietly turning into one of the best arms in the organization and might finish the season in Minnesota. Better pitcher than Mike Tonkin at this point. 26. Aaron Slegers RHP (---) Another 2013 draftee (5th round) who impressed me last spring. Very tall pitcher with potential to add velocity if he works with his mechanics 27. Jose Abreu RHP (23) 28. Matthew Koch C (22) These guys got caught into the numbers game 29. Zach Larson OF (36) I think that my off-season prospect list was the only one that Zach was in, but I am sure that he has opened a few more eyes with his Midwest League performance. 30. Alexis Tapia RHP (21) Might jump back up depending on E-town play 31. Zach Jones RHP (19) Lost season, the emergence and draft of other relievers drop Zach, but the potential is there. 32. Sean Gilmartin LHP (NEW) When the last list was made, Ryan Doumit was still a Twin 33. Brian Gilbert RHP (20) Proven hitable in Fort Myers. 34. Argenis Silva RHP (---) The 18 year old will finally show his ability injury free in his third DSL season 35. Sam Clay LHP (NEW) The Twins' 4th round draft pick in 2014 projects as a starter, might end up as a long reliever. 36. Brandon Peterson RHP (---) All the 13th round pick in 2013 does is strikes hitters out and does not allow runs to score. Moved 4 spots in 2 seasons, he is fast-tracked and ready to jump these rankings the off-season 37. DJ Baxendale (15) One of the biggest drops in this list. He has not figured out AA or AA has figured him out. The 23 year old is back at Fort Myers for fine tuning. Needs to prove himself the second half, but hard to give up on him at this point, because I have seen him do amazing things 38. Levi Michael 2B (---) Is the former first round draft pick figuring it out finally with the stick in his third FSL stint? He is leading the Miracle in Batting Average and OBP. 39. Fernardo Romero RHP (34) 40. Randy Rosario LHP (---) Excellent skills have not translated in results in 3 games started at Cedar Rapids, but there is a lot of potential. Graduated: Danny Santana, Logan Darnell Dropped: DJ Hicks (24) JD Williams (25) Stuart Turner (28) Josh Burris (29) Mason Melotakis (31) Deibinson Romero (32) Mike Gonzales (33) Logan Wade (37) Tyler Grimes (38) Tyler Jones (39) Alex Wimmers (40)

The fans do not vote for pitchers And the Twins need a representative. And if nobody is voted by the fans, one will be chosen by John Farrell. I suspect that Cano and Pedroia will be ahead of Dozier, so Hughes will likely make it...

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ----- Phil Hughes so far (8 starts, about a quarter of the season) has been the Minnesota Twins' best pitcher and should definitely have All-Star consideration. In addition to his old school 4-1, 3.61 ERA, he has 7.6 K/9, 6.7 K/BB, and 1.225 WHIP. This translates to a 41.6 PE, which is in Ace territory. Take into consideration that he achieved that with a .326 BABIP (thanks to the Twins' playing catchers, shortstops and designated hitters at the outfield), and his numbers become ever more impressive: Adjusted WHIP: 1.09, xPE: 46.8, FIP 2.94. The strikeouts (20.3% K-rate and 7.6 K/9) are especially a welcome departure from the usual for the Twins. Last season was a horrible season for Hughes, but still his K-rate was high (and has been, it has 18.9% and 20.3%, last season and the season before last, respectively) and was going deep into games. This game, against the eventual AL West champions, could have been a mirror image of his last appearance with the Twins: [video=youtube;o1ZLa74Wlcg] All in all, Phil Hughes is up to a great start and it should not be all that surprising. According to this analysis, he was a solid two to three starter last season, and based on this analysis, he was a good, but not a top 3, pitcher for the Twins to target last off-season.

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- As I indicated earlier, in addition to seeing Alex Meyer, one of my goals last weekend when I attended the Red Wings' last 3 games at the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, was to have a good look at the newest Twins' player Eduardo Nunez. Nunez, once the heir apparent to Derek Jeter and a Yankees top prospect, was traded by those Yankees to the Twins for Miguel Sulbaran (quick scouting report from this Spring Training here.) Even though I am deeply enshrined as an Eduardo Escobar supporter for the Twins' starting Shortstop job, any improvement over Pedro Florimon, is more than welcome, so I was extremely intrigued at seeing Nunez on the field and at the plate. In the three games I saw, Nunez played Shortstop, DH, and Right Field. There has been a reputation built around Nunez indicating that his defense is poor. Looking at the various measurements, which are all affected by the smallish sample size, UZR, fangraphs "Defense" and RZR does not like him much, but it also looks like he made 50 plays out of the zone at shortstop in 152 games, so color me intrigued. Here is what I saw: In his game as a shortstop he handled several balls and made good accurate throws to first base. Adjusts well on different batters and is pretty aware. On a particular grounder he juggled the ball, but still initiated a double play, so that did not hurt. As a right fielder he took good routes to the ball, had to dig a ball from the corner and did it exceptionally well and made strong throws to the correct cut off man. On one occasion he tried to barehand a ground ball and he overran it by a foot, but recovered. All in all he looks like an average fielder to me out there, if a bit eager to make a play. I am not sure about where the reputation of a bad fielder comes from (maybe from WFAN 660 callers?) but for someone like me who have seen the Twins play Buscher, Nishioka, Harris, Delmon Young, and still play Plouffe and Willingham on the field, I think that Nunez will be an improvement over all of them. As far as his bat goes, I was really impressed by the quality of his plate appearances. You can see a video of a plate appearance here. He is tied for the lead in Home Runs for the Red Wings with 3 and he has not played that much. His ability to adjust and put the ball in play is excellent. Something that the Twins can really use in the bottom of their lineup. In addition to the video example mentioned above, here is a sequence of photos that shows what I described: Pitch 1: Slider low and outside, swing and miss: Pitch 2: Same pitch. Moves inside a more, times it better and fouls it: Pitch 3: Same pitch. He gets the fat piece of the bat and turns it in for a double: I cannot remember how many times I have seen Twins' hitters in the majors failing to do this. All in all, I think that Eduardo Nunez will be an asset for the Twins and part of the solution in the future.

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- 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, that 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 prospect and 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 on occasion, and was a ball that 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 that 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 of errors by Deibinson Romero and a couple of 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) : Those were: Fastball, Slider, Change up, Curve, Curve. And his fastest Fastball clocked at 97, while his slowest curveball 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. Next: Eduardo Nunez.

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- ...and has nothing to do with nostalgia. The Twins have been busy trying to finalize their 25 man roster, this week, the last of Spring Training, and unless you are lucky enough to vacation to a remote island away from mobile phones and the Internets, you would know by now that there was a waiver wire frenzy that had two Twins without options (Chris Parmelee and Scott Diamond) passing through waivers unclaimed and assigned to Rochester (with Diamond sleeping on whether he will accept the assignment or not and become a free agent) and a third (Alex Presley of Justin Morneau trade fame) getting claimed by the Astros. While frantically counting bodies to see who might be the backup Centerfielder in the squad, the Twins' Communications Director, Dustin Morse gave the answer on twitter: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ABl3HGy40K8/UzU6W8QqQ8I/AAAAAAAAAPc/pJRtzESVDeQ/s1600/Bartlett.png That conclusion was there, just by looking at who remained after the waiver activity, and in addition to Jason Bartlett it seems that Chris Colabello, who had a terrific Spring Training, also made the team. However, unlike with Bartlett, no official announcements have been made about Colabello (who does have 2 years of minor league options remaining) and since yesterday the Twins have 2 open 40-man roster spots, even if you include Kubel and Bartlett, which they might use to pick someone from the waiver wire and promote to the 25-man roster. I really have mixed feelings about Bartlett making the team. I did not like the idea that the Twins gave minor league contracts to both Kubel and Bartlett, mainly because I thought that both of them had their best years well behind and, like when they traded a Hamburger to the Rangers for Yesterday Eddie, the Twins were signing the ghosts of Jasons past. And Bartlett had a horrible Spring on paper and did not get any better when I was down there and saw him in person. His appearances on the plate made me think that he would have hard time making contact from a tee and allowed me to make snide in game remarks like this and this. But something changed yesterday. On one hand I still do not think that he is in shape to help the team with his bat, but it is not the end of the world and he might actually do help the team. Why is that? First of all, to make it clear. It is not because of nostalgia. If you have been reading this blog for a while, by now you should know that I think that one of the darkest seasons in the Twins' history was the smallball team of 2006, which lost all 3 of its postseason games, despite the facts that it had both the AL MVP and the AL Cy Young and it was the favorite to win it all. Dark times for the Twins, Gardy's piranhas and all, and Bartlett was part of the problem in my book. It is not even because I think that Florimon probably will not be ready to begin the season and Bartlett might provide insurance. I already think that the Twins have a very capable shortstop (other than Florimon) who should be starting and is due for a break through season. It is because of this. I really disliked the vibe I got from the Twins when I was down in Fort Myers, especially as far as effort goes, and I wrote about it in detail, predicting that it will be the downfall of the Twins this season. But Barlett actually gave it all this Spring. Inability to make contact or not. He was fine on the field as well, he was always with a smile on his face, including when he made that catch at Centerfield (I was sitting at the new OF seats right above him practically) and he looked like he had fun playing the game like a kid. I think that the Twins can use this kind of energy right now, despite the fact that the Bartlett as a major leaguer experiment might be short-lived. So, sarcasm aside, I am warming up to the idea... http://mlb.mlb.com/assets/images/1/1/2/68265112/cuts/bartlett_guerrier_kubel_720_m23hhvfe_gl3g5vm8.jpg

--- Every year I wait to watch the Twins in spring training before I form an opinion about how they will do this coming season. And I like to watch them in person to do this, just trying to see little signs here and little clues there. A bit before I did that, my arm was twisted to give a number of wins and position of finishing for the Twins this season, and I predicted that the [URL="http://www.cardsconclave.com/2014/03/11/playing-pepper-2014-minnesota-twins/"]Twins will go 81-81 to finish third in AL Central[/URL]. It was a quick prediction based on the improvement of the pitching staff this off-season. Even Mike Pelfrey, recently said (reference to be added soon) that the Twins will finish at least .500 this season. This might be good on paper, but I really got a bad feeling last week. And it does not have to do with the front office completely[URL="http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/251207721.html"] ignoring the offensive and position player[/URL] side of the ball this off-season (the only moves practically being substituting [B]Kurt Suzuki[/B] for [B]Ryan Doumit [/B]and [B]Jason Kubel[/B] for [B]Justin Morneau[/B].) It does not even have to do with the recent (and much celebrated and discussed) comments of acting GM Rob Antony,[URL="http://blogs.twincities.com/twins/2014/03/19/twinsights-twins-exec-rob-antony-wishes-somebody-would-do-something-to-win-a-job/"] suggesting that nobody who is competing for a spot is actually doing anything to win a job[/URL]. On paper, and being optimistic, I thought that Willingham and Plouffe would rebound, Hicks would reach his potential, Arcia would be the power hitter we all expect to be, Pinto would solidify the catcher position, Mauer would improve with his knees not having the catching stress and that Escobar would have a break-through season as a shortstop akin to Brian Dozier's 2013, who would not regress. It might still happen. And then the Twins wouldwin at least 81 games. And I hope it happens. But I got a really bad feeling last week. And the cause was there precipitated and displayed in front of the eyes [URL="https://twitter.com/thrylos98/status/446108827801628672/photo/1"]of the 100 of us who remained [/URL]late Tuesday night to see the last pitch at [URL="https://twitter.com/thrylos98/status/446105944486068224"]that Twins' night game hosting the Rays[/URL]. And it had not much to do with Vance Worley's right arm and the batting practice projectiles he was throwing, but by the lackadaisical play and non-effort by the position players the whole spring. And not only the ones who are fighting for a job per Rob Antony. And not only at that game, but this was the epitome. On the flights to Fort Myers and back I have been reading [URL="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1886513716/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1886513716&linkCode=as2&tag=biowriters"]Cool Of The Evening: The 1965 Minnesota Twins[/URL][IMG]http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=1886513716[/IMG] by Jim Theilman (an excellent book and highly recommended, btw). Thielman mentions that one of the turning points of the 1965 magical Twins' season came at the middle of spring training at Orlando's Tinker Field: At the middle of a game, because of lack of effort, Sam Mele, the Twins' manager, took Zoilo Versalles (the eventual 1965 MVP) out of the lineup, benched him for a while and fined him $300, an amount very high for the time. This gave the message that it was expected for even the best players to give 100%, even during spring training and that set the tone for the rest of the season. How many times the last three seasons have you seen plenty of Twins' players not giving it all? And with what consequences? And it is continuing this spring and I do not think the Twins will go anywhere unless they go back to full effort (Mele's season, piranhas' season or whatever, take your pick.) Examples (from that game) : [LIST] [*][B]Josh Willingham[/B] hits a scorcher past third base to left that bounced just over the bag, half a foot fair and rolled all the way to the corner. As the ball was hit, I was thinking triple all the way. Mr Willingham jogged around the bases and managed to get himself thrown out at second by a few feet. It ended up being recorded as a single with the hitter thrown out at second trying to stretch it into a double. On the field it was much more. [*][B]Vancy Worley[/B] was hit hard. Very hard. And about four times, if [B]Trevor Plouffe[/B] had been guarding the line on inside fastballs he would have made outs out of those 4 hits. I do understand it if it happens once. Then you adjust. And the Twins have a special infield coach who should supposedly help these days too. On paper it was four hits (a couple doubles as well.) On the field it was much more. [*][B]Alex Presley[/B] gets on base. Gets a good jump trying to steal second. He is there before the throw. He over-slides the base. He is tagged out. For the third time. On paper it was recorded as an CS. On the field it was much more. [*]Later in the game there is fly ball to the short left field. LF [B]Wilkin Ramirez[/B] goes in, SS [B]Eduardo Escobar[/B] goes out to catch the ball. Ramirez yells "I got it". Escobar stops 7-8 feet away. The ball drops in front of Ramirez. On paper it was an error. On the field it was much more. [/LIST] It is the little things. And they are not little. They are big, cumulatively. And it is a lack of accountability for not doing things right. Did Willingham and Presley have extra base running practice the next day? Plouffe and Ramirez fielding practice? Did anyone of them get pulled out of the game (they cannot be fined, the CBA took care of that)? We all know the answers. And if the Twins do not start holding everyone, from the players, to the manager, to the coaches, to the front office, accountable for what is happening on the field, not much will change. Rotation improvements or not. My prediction: I hate to say it, but 70-92 and 5th place. But I do hope that this time someone is held accountable for this... [I]Originally published at [URL="http://tenthinningstretch.blogspot.com/2014/03/spring-training-redux-how-will-twins-do.html"]The Tenth Inning Stretch[/URL][/I] [CENTER] [URL="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3797/13297203983_22ddecd5cd_z.jpg"][IMG]http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3797/13297203983_22ddecd5cd_z.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [/CENTER] View full article

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- Every year I wait to watch the Twins in Spring Training before I form an opinion about how they will do this coming season. And I like to watch them in person to do this, just trying to see little signs here and little clues there. A bit before I did that, my arm was twisted to give a number of wins and position of finishing for the Twins this season, and I predicted that the Twins will go 81-81 to finish third in AL Central. It was a quick prediction based on the improvement of the pitching staff this off-season. Even Mike Pelfrey, recently said (reference to be added soon) that the Twins will finish at least .500 next season. This might be good on paper, but I really got a bad feeling last week. And it does not have to do with the front office completely ignoring the offensive and position player side of the ball this off-season (the only moves practically being substituting Kurt Suzuki for Ryan Doumit and Jason Kubel for Justin Morneau.) It does not even have to do with the recent (and much celebrated and discussed) comments of acting GM Rob Antony, suggesting that nobody who is competing for a spot is actually doing anything to win a job. On paper, and being optimistic, I thought that Willingham and Plouffe will rebound, Hicks will reach his potential, Arcia will be the power hitter we all expect to be, Pinto will solidify the catcher position, Mauer will improve with his knees not having the catching stress and that Escobar will have a break-through season as a shortstop akin to Brian Dozier's 2013 who would not regress. It might still as well happen. And then the Twins will win at least 81 games. And I hope it happens. But I got a really bad feeling last week. And it was there precipitated and displayed in front of the eyes of the 100 of us who remained late Tuesday night to see the last pitch at that Twins' night game hosting the Rays. And it had not much to do with Vance Worley's right arm and the batting practice projectiles he was throwing, but by the lackadaisical play and non-effort by the position players the whole spring. And not only the ones who are fighting for a job per Rob Antony. And not only at that game, but this was the epitome. On the flights to Fort Myers and back I have been reading Cool Of The Evening: The 1965 Minnesota Twinshttp://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=1886513716 by Jim Theilman (an excellent book and highly recommended, btw.) Thielman mentions that one of the turning points of the 1965 magical Twins' season came at the middle of Spring Training in Orlando's Tinker Field: At the middle of a game, because of lack of effort, Sam Mele, the Twins' manager, took Zoilo Versalles (the eventual 1965 MVP) out of the lineup, benched him for a while and fined him $300, an amount very high for the time. This gave the message that it is expected for even the best players to give 100% even during Spring Training and set the tone for the rest of the season. How many times the last 3 seasons have you seen plenty of Twins' players not giving it all? And with what consequences? And it is continuing this Spring and I do not think that the Twins will go anywhere unless they go back to full effort (Mele's season, piranhas' season or whatever, take your peak.) Examples (from that game) : Josh Willingham hits a scorcher past third base to left that bounced just over the bag, half a foot fair and rolled all the way to the corner. As the ball was hit, I was thinking triple all the way. Mr Willingham jogged around the bases and managed to get himself thrown out at second by a few feet. It ended up being recorded as a single with the hitter thrown out at second trying to stretch it into a double. On the field It was much more. Vancy Worley was hit hard. Very hard. And at about four times, if Trevor Plouffe was guarding the line on inside fastballs he would have made outs out of those 4 hits. I do understand it if it happens once. Then you adjust. And the Twins have a special infield coach who should supposedly help these days too. On paper it was four hits (a couple doubles as well.) On the field it was much more. Alex Presley gets on base. Gets a good jump trying to steal second. He is there before the throw. He over-slides the base. He is tagged out. For the third time. On the paper it was recorded as an CS. On the field it was much more. Later in the game there is fly ball to the short left field. LF Wilkin Ramirez goes in, SS Eduardo Escobar goes out to catch the ball. Ramirez yells "I got it". Escobar stops 7-8 feet away. The ball drops in front of Ramirez. On paper it was an error. On the field it was much more. It is the little things. And they are not little. They are big cumulatively. And it is accountability for not doing things right. Did Willingham and Presley have extra base running practice the next day? Plouffe and Ramirez fielding practice? Did anyone of them get pulled out of the game (they cannot be fined, the CBA took care of that)? We all know the answer. And if the Twins do not start holding everyone from the players, to the manager, to the coaches to the front office accountable for what is happening on the field, not much will change. Rotation improvements or not. My prediction: I hate to say it, but 70-92 and 5th place. But I do hope that this time someone is held accountable for this... http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3797/13297203983_22ddecd5cd_z.jpg

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- Today it was Minnesota Day at Hammond Stadium, which apparently means that a whole bunch of people get early at the ballpark to tailgate at the parking lot and is a pain to find parking spots. I arrived just in time for the two intrasquad games (AAA vs AA) and (A+ vs A) at Fields number 2 and 3. Aaron Hicks was hitting for the AA team and Pedro Florimon was playing for the AAA team, so that is where I exclusively spent my time before I was headed to the ballpark for the Twins and Marlins game. Alex Meyer was pitching and he was practically unhittable and a strike out machine, other than a long home run by Mike Gonzalez who looks in shape this season and will likely split the 1B/DH duties with Kennys Vargas in New Britain. I am not going to give a scouting report on Meyer, it is unnecessary, but he was on top of his game and hitting his spots with ease. I have not noticed before, but he does this weird thing with his mouth when he pitches: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3798/13202258975_13733a8555_z.jpg Aaron Hicks did not play at the field but was the second batter in every inning for the AA squad and did nothing in 3 innings against Alex Meyer. However, when he was replaced in the fourth, Hicks hit a long home run in dead center off Yohan Pino. Pino was not quite as good as I remember him to be, his control was just not there. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3692/13202410003_9f0ae157f5_z.jpg Speaking of not good, BJ Hermsen started for the AA team and he was, well, not good. It was amazing that he has been the Twins' minor league pitcher of the year in the past as well as having a spot on the 40-man roster. I am not sure what has happened to him, but it is not pretty. He was hit hard by every Rochester player, allowing multiple home runs and extra base hits. Even Pedro Florimon hit a triple off him in one plate appearance and struck out (a feat by itself because Hermsen struck out 3.7 AA hitters per 9 innings last season) in another. http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2791/13202269605_990e787851_z.jpg And if you are a major leaguer, this is how you go from the back fields to Hammond Stadium: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2849/13202271055_90f257ba1d_z.jpg Some additional tidbits from the intrasquad game: Evan Bigley played CF for Rochester today. With Mastroianni back there tomorrow, I do not think that this will be a common sighting. Bigley was fine at the field and made a couple good catches and looked good at the plate as well. I think that this is a make or break season for him. This off-season the Twins picked up 28 year old CJ Ziegler, the Independent American Association MVP (.318/.408/.645 with 30 HRs and 99 RBI in 100 games,) hoping it will be Chris Colabello's second coming. Ziegler is listed at 6'5", 245 lbs, but he is a much bigger man. This of a righty Jim Thome. It will be interesting to see how he does in Rochester http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3724/13203387384_3019744e17_z.jpg Cole Johnson came to relieve BJ Hermsen and I think that he might be a sleeper. Very lanky righty with easy delivery, throwing almost side arm and good movement. Not a mph guy, but good solid stuff and looks like he got a good feel for pitching. He struck out 11 per 9 innings last season in AA, so he might be doing something right. The 44th round pick from Notre Dame in 2011 has been flying under the radar so far, but he might be someone to pay attention to this season. Back at the Hammond Stadium the Twins hosted the Marlins, which resulted in a pitching matchup between a former Twins Ace http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2681/13202272775_1b17fb65c1_z.jpg and the current Twins' Ace. http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2820/13202408363_1285a2225c_z.jpg It was a pitching duel through five with each of the starters giving one run a piece and each of the starters topping out at 92 mph (which is quite a feat for Slowey.) Ricky Nolasco was very impressive in that he has a repertoire of 5 (or so) pitches and he is throwing them any time in the count. His change up (79-81) was particularly impressive today. He will be the Twins' opening day starter and I predict a great season for him. Both Jasons (Kubel and Bartlett) reached base today (a rarity for these guys) on walks. Despite Twins' fans rooting for them to make the team, I think that their best days are well behind them and that they are not major league caliber players at this point. Aaron Hicks came in for Alex Presley and had a nice double. At this point, I think that it is not even close between these two. In addition to Presley having an anemic bat this Spring and misjudging balls at the outfield, at one point in a single at mid-depth, he bounced the throw to the cutoff man. An arm reminiscent of Ben Revere. Speaking of feats, at some point Josh Willingham hit a strong liner that hugged the right field line. I was thinking triple all the way as soon as it left his bat, but he managed to get thrown out at second base. Unacceptable at pro ball. Maybe the thing in his back pocket was weighing him down... http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3794/13202593044_2a6c27d43f_z.jpg Tomorrow the Twins are playing the Orioles in Sarasota and it will be a full day of minor league coverage from Fort Myers for me.

Seth, I was looking for you the past few days, but I did not see you. And I know what you look like