Thrylos

Thank you. That's him.

I don't think that he was born by '87

No. Krivsky is younger.

Earlier this week from the minor league fields at Fort Myers. '87 and '91 rings on. Does not ring a bell. At all. Does anyone know who this gentleman is? Thanks.

You got to eyeball the prospects to see how they are doing They do not keep score in Minor League games and sometimes irregular things happen, like the other day, when Aaron Hicks did not play the field but was hitting second in every frame for the Twins AA team.

81-91 can be 4-5 different pitches Change ups (split finger included) are usually -10 or so from 4 seamers, he might have a 2-seamer, a slider, a slurve and a cutter in that range as well. Unless someone is throwing something like a slow curve or a palmball or a knuckleball, hard to see more than 10 mph average spread. Really

Great stuff! Just a nitpick: By no means, in any way. He might be the closest to the majors and better than pitchers like Pressly and Fien, but he is not the best relief prospect in the organization.

Improved his ERA. Not "blossomed". And if you use FIP as performance measurement, he has been the same starting or relieving. Peripherals like K% or K/9 have decreased in relief and that is a red flag there...

Sometimes I just do not understand the Deduno love Did you check his appearance last night? I would have a hard time to think that a guy who is prone to throw the wild pitch should be in close situations, esp. with runners at third base or at second with one out. Deduno's track record (despite all the love) is just not there...

Sir, it is really bad karma to wish injury to anyone. Diamond needs to get traded.

OOPS. Allegedly, according to Rob Antony, Diamond is still in the mix and the Gibson anointment was a bit premature.

By his career numbers. And the fact that he was re-signed to a 2 year contract. And the fact that the Twins count him to be the number 3 pitcher. And the fact that Deduno has still to complete a major (or minor, or WBC) league season without hurting himself. And the fact that he simply is a better pitcher any way you measure it.

In which way? You can argue that ERA is a bad metric (very true) but those are Diamonds runs. If the bases were empty, there would had been no runs.

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

and 2 hits from each side too...

My point is with the single biggest issue that 95% of minor leaguers (as far as hitters go) have who do not make it to the bigs: Pitch recognition. The ability to judge whether you got an off-speed or breaking ball and whether it is in the strike zone or out. I think that 90% of the people off the street could have that plate appearance that Goodrum had. I just expect more from a second round draft pick heading into his 5th professional season. Fielding aside.

Crap. This is awful news (and baseball is secondary here.) He just needs to get this situation taken care of. Wishing him the best.

Or, try to go in early the back way via Plantation Road.

Do you know where the strip mall with Publix is right after you turn on Ben C Pratt Pky from Daniels? Scalpers have signs there by the entrance looking for tickets.

Unfortunately not. Back to Northeast. Thanks, though. Jim Cricket might be there though.

That's too far BTW, is your avatar pic of that baby gator the Twins put in the pond behind the OF?

Yeah. Closest ballpark and a really nice OF boardwalk for $10. About half an hour away. Last year I stayed close to Port Charlotte as a matter of fact.

Nope. I am pretty sure that Souhan has not burned any bridges and, unlike the beat writers who report what happens, Souhan as a columnist has the freedom to be the Twins' mouthpiece when certain players need to be publicly thrown under the bus. And he has served in that capacity pretty well. Rewind his columns to read what he said about Kevin Slowey, Danny Valencia, Luke Hughes and others, for example. And two of the aforementioned three, were not quiet guys in the clubhouse. I don't know what Souhan meant by quietness, but there are quiet leaders out there. A couple of examples are Killebrew and Allison. They were not loud, or having team meetings or giving good quotes out, but when they needed, they grabbed some of their teammates aside on an 1-1 basis and set them straight. This is leadership and this is what the Twins need. Quiet or not...

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