Thrylos

Worthwhile to mention that non-game days is the best time to go to the (really tiny) pro shop at Hammond stadium and buy gear. And during spring training it is all Twins, but they do have Miracle stuff in storage downstairs. So if it is quiet, you might get them to get some stuff for you. It will not happen on game days.

I would not count Deibinson Romero out of the equation yet...

That's middle of the road scenario. Best case would be playing in the GCL (or at any level for that matter) as a DH in August and full recovery by winter ball.

Data is always good to have, and the more the better, especially in the depth this effort seems to be. However, the biggest issue is to know what questions you need to answer with this data and how to crunch it to answer them. I think that this would be a challenge.

Vargas at DH in 2015. First base is taken for a while

I think that the only FA LHP the Twins should be minimally interested in is Johan Santana...

This actually is a bit concerning: I just hope that they do not wait until April to do it. Give the kid a week break and do it...

Hope he gets well soon. I know it is frustrating to him, but I hope he (and the Twins) see this as a Sabbatical and have him work on his weaknesses, like positioning and footwork and glovework in EST and in the Miracle/GCL squad practices. He can even work on bunting and base-running and conditioning. The only thing he cannot do right away is throw and take full force cuts with the bat. Might actually be a blessing in disguise. Pretty certain that he cannot play in the AWL per agreement with the MLB. Not sure how Rosario got to do that last season, but unlike Sano, he is Puerto Rican. So likely DWL will be the first game situation for him

http://store.dougjohnsonsports.com/images/TerryLeach8x10B.jpg

Let me tell you (from experience) : If you ask someone to play 3B, you might ask him to play SS. 1B and C (and corner OF) are more alike than 3B and SS. You probably noticed that most third basemen are failed shortstops, not catchers. There is a reason for this.

Congrats! On baseball: Thanks for posting this. Antony a couple days ago said something like "some people in the Twins' organization thought that Pinto checked in a few pounds too heavy". Just looking at this, and knowing what Pinto looks like for the last 3-4 STs, I can call major BS...

I just don't get why people think that it is easy to "move" players around. Heck, if they move Mauer to SS, that would solve a lot of problems Not all positions are made equal and not all positions are equally easy to play for some guys. Really. It is not fantasy, it is not computer games. Third base and first base are totally different beasts...

This too: http://twinsphotog.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/20140226_bjh_129.jpg

Arizona Diamondbacks - 80.5 - OVER Atlanta Braves - 87.5 - UNDER Baltimore Orioles - 80.5 - UNDER Boston Red Sox - 87.5 - OVER Chicago Cubs - - 69.5 - OVER Chicago White Sox - 75.5 - UNDER Cincinnati Reds - 84.5 - UNDER Cleveland Indians - 80.5- UNDER Colorado Rockies - 76.5- OVER Detroit Tigers - 89.5- UNDER Houston Astros - 62.5- OVER Kansas City Royals - 81.5 - UNDER Los Angeles Angels - 86.5 - UNDER Los Angeles Dodgers - 92.5 - UNDER Miami Marlins - 69.5 - OVER Milwaukee Brewers - 79.5 - UNDER Minnesota Twins - 70.5 - OVER New York Mets - 73.5 - OVER New York Yankees - 86.5 - OVER Oakland Athletics - 88.5 - UNDER Philadelphia Phillies - 76.5 - OVER Pittsburgh Pirates - 83.5- OVER San Diego Padres - 78.5 - OVER San Francisco Giants - 86.5 - UNDER Seattle Mariners - 81.5 - OVER St. Louis Cardinals - 90.5 - UNDER Tampa Bay Rays - 88.5 - UNDER Texas Rangers - 86.5 - UNDER Toronto Blue Jays - 79.5- OVER Washington Nationals - 88.5- UNDER Tie breaker: The two AL WC teams will be: Twins, Rangers Tie breaker 2: The two NL WC teams will be: Pirates, Diamondbacks

Yeah. Especially after that initial knee injury that practically got his knee into pieces. For the ones who do not remember, he tore both the ACL and PCL, and the LCL and his meniscus (for good measure.) That was a horrible injury and one can never completely heal from that, so any sort of knee situation is troublesome...

Just got this. This is how Vargas looked yesterday: Hardly Fielder-like

Well... If he has surgery, the soonest he will be able to play is in the Dominican Winter League. They do not need to add him to the 40 man roster, so unless they are competing and need his bat as a DH/PH to get them over the edge, they will not not do it. And, no, he is not eligible for the AFL. He can hit a bit and catch the ball and work on his footwork and fielding but not throw with this. So he will probably spend time in EST and maybe rehab at GCL if doing well. I would just give it some time to see what the MRI will show instead of thinking of the worst case scenario.

No. Worse comes to worse he has surgery, misses half a season and makes the team in 2015

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/DAN-SCHATZEDER-1987-MINNESOTA-TWINS-8X10-PHOTO-/00/%24(KGrHqQOKpcE19Cm-iW9BNkU)9Rruw~~_35.JPG

I don't expect much from Kubel. He is essentially replacing Doumit who put a .710 OPS last season (which is close to the numbers that hurt Kubel put) and Parmelee whose healthy numbers in 2013 (.228/.309/.354, 24.3% K%) were almost identical to Kubel's. I suspect that at some point in the season Willingham will be the full time DH and (hopefully) by mid-season Plouffe takes over. I just don't want to see (m)any of those guys on the field any more.

That's an old picture He is wearing 70 (Sano 72, Vargas 68, Kepler 67, Polanco 78, Meyer 66, May 65)

[I]Originally published at [URL="http://tenthinningstretch.blogspot.com/2014/02/random-thoughts-from-twins-intrasquad.html"]The Tenth Inning Stretch[/URL][/I] --- Today the Minnesota Twins unofficially had their first game of spring training; it was an intrasquad contest. Here are some of my thoughts from what happened in this game: [LIST] [*]Pitchers seem to be well ahead of hitters: [LIST] [*][B]Phil Hughes[/B] pitched 2 scoreless innings throwing 21 out of 27 strikes, striking out 4 (including Buxton and Sano) and his FB was 91/92 mph [*][B]Kevin Correia[/B] also pitched 2 run-free innings with 14/26 strikes, a K and a BB. [*][B]Kyle Gibson[/B] hit 94 mph on the gun and also pitched 2 scoreless innings (18/25 strikes) [/LIST] [*]Phil Hughes said that he will not throw the slider, a pitch he threw 21.3% of the time last year, but not with much success. In 2013 the slider resulted in -0.8 runs per 100 pitches. He will replace it with a slow curve (9% of his pitches last season with about average success) and a cutter, a pitch he has not thrown consistently since 2011. The cutter was very good in 2009 and 2010 but not as good in 2011 and he abandoned it. A curve is a pitch that he will throw primarily against LHBs and the cutter (and slider) against RHBs. [*]I am not convinced Kevin Correia will be with the Twins for a long time. I can see Gibson pushing him to the trading block during spring training. [*][B]Eduardo Escobar[/B] played 3B (replacing Sano), which is [URL="http://tenthinningstretch.blogspot.com/2013/11/in-path-that-brian-dozier-blazed-2014.html"]his worst fielding position[/URL], instead of shortstop (his best fielding position; he won the Gold Glove for the Venezuela Winter League this off-season). I feel Escobar can[URL="http://tenthinningstretch.blogspot.com/2013/11/in-path-that-brian-dozier-blazed-2014.html"] replace Florimon as the Twins' starting shortstop[/URL], if given a chance. It is frustrating to see Gardenhire playing him out of position. [*]The big boys did really well defensively [LIST] [*][B]Miquel Sano [/B]had several good plays at third base including several strong throws, which is good news for the shape of his elbow [*][B]Kennys Vargas[/B] ma y have made the defensive play of the game with a diving stop and throw to the pitcher (Worley) who was covering first. Both these guys' defense is better than certain people might want you to believe [/LIST] [*]I hope [B]Byron Buxton[/B]'s performance today (0-3, 3K, 1BB late in the game) will bring back to earth the fans who think he should be the Twins' starting centerfielder in 2014. He has a great future, but patience is needed. [*][B]Josmil Pinto[/B] played today, which is good news, meaning that his back is better, but Rob Antony said on the radio that the Twins think he came to spring training "a bit heavy", which is bad news, because it sounds like the Twins' brass is preparing the ground for a demotion and going with Suzuki as the starter, a non-optimal situation. [/LIST] [I]Originally published at [URL="http://tenthinningstretch.blogspot.com/2014/02/random-thoughts-from-twins-intrasquad.html"]The Tenth Inning Stretch[/URL][/I] [CENTER] [URL="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8124/8607106528_5592ff77b8_z.jpg"][IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8124/8607106528_5592ff77b8_z.jpg[/IMG][/URL][/CENTER] View full article