Thrylos

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.)

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

Averaging records across different seasons does not quite work, because in baseball individual seasons count. I will give you an example: It is correct to say that from 1997-1999 the Florida Marlins had a .432 winning percentage. One would assume that they sucked, unless they realize that they won the World Series in the first of these 3 seasons. Might be a philosophical point of discussion, but I don't think how one season's record can spill into another's. Looking at stretches makes more sense to me. You might feel differently

touche. I forgot the fifties. How about the last 65 season's then? And I am not talking about single season records. this season is still in progress. The last 3, the Twins' winning % was .389, .407 & .407. The .424 or 1905 and .441 of 1908 is higher than those .407s and break a triplet like the latest. So (barely) is that .416 of 1947 and the .435 of 1950. 1955-1958 was awful indeed. But, hyperbole aside, we are talking about once in a lifetime proportions streak here...

Hold it for a sec I thought that this was actually a positive write up. I read this: I don't know about you, but if Gordon is as good as Aybar or Escobar with the stick and better with the glove, I would be very happy. Aybar's career average is .277/.317/.388. Escobar's is: .276/.348/.382 Does anyone remember the last Twins' shortstop who played more than 2 seasons in the position with a better career line? (Hint: he is a broadcaster now and he had an iron glove.) I think that the writeup was fair and I agree with the author that Gordon was a reach at that spot. This does not mean that he is a bad prospect (actually I think that he is the second best Twins' SS prospect right now behind the kid that is gathering frequent flyer miles from RSW to MSP.) He just was not the fifth best player in this draft

Were some horrible play periods during his tenure, but this four season stretch is the worst in the franchise history (and I am counting from 1901.)

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...

One (1). After the threat for contraction was gone, TK had a single season and was gone. If you are going to contract the team who cares who the manager in the last season is and what the team's record would be...

I don't think that's correct. There will always be people who are not willing to move on for whatever reasons they may have. I think that Gardy is done and there are plenty of signs out there that this is happening sooner than later... The trick is for Gardy's departure to bring something new in the organization, because if not, it will work as well as the last time the Twins rearranged coaching chairs (and fired Stelly and Jerry.) And everyone who is a major league coach there (with maybe the exception of Molitor because he has not been there long and he brought in something new this season - defensive shifts) should go. No Andy, no Vavrey, no Scotty, no Steiny, no Bruno. Sorry. They got their chances. We shall see.

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

We shall find out... I am pretty sure that Gardy is on his way out (as soon as the Minors are done so some coaches can come up, or even sooner.) I am pretty sure that Ryan will be gone too for health reasons Replacing them with Antony and Molitor will do zip for this team though...

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.