Linus

Very funny. I can't believe anybody can catch or hit it at 100. Here is what I don't understand about pitch framing: umpires are supposed to judge the location of the pitch where it crosses the plate. If they, in fact, are doing that, then framing has nothing to do with stirke calls. If they are influenced by the position of the glove, that's a problem considering the not unsubstantial distance from the plate to the glove.

Correct. I think the reality is that Nolasco is in there but I think he was sincere in saying rotation spots will be earned in spring training regardless of where you pitched last year. I took this to mean that May is no cinch to be in the rotation next year and that Meyer could be. He also sounded aggravated that, when we have all these pitchers hanging around, we are giving spot starts to Swarzak.

On inside twins this morning, TR said only Hughes is a lock for the rotation next year. I got the distinct feeling he is not happy with the whole lot of them. My guess is that any role is going to be earned in spring training

I don't know anything about the facilities in Chattanooga but the weather should be better than New Britain.

Hicks should be in the mix for center next year but no way he ends up being a 4th outfielder already. If he doesn't win the starting job, then he needs to be the starter in Rochester. He's still young enough to figure it out. Agreed that in the short run, they need both Santana and Esco in the lineup. However, short is such an important position that the potential upside of Santana playing there is worth a look.

First off, this just shows that defensive metrics are really crude still. Their infield defense is acceptable and Arcia is going to be in right at least for the next couple of years so you really can only get better two ways: returning starters improve and the Twins make defense a priority in CF and LF. How much the improvement is offset if the new outfielders can't hit is the key factor. It would be interesting to know how this has changed since they dealt the Hammer.

It really doesn't matter. I actually think it was an OK signing from the standpoint that the contract is small enough that they can just eat it in the worst case scenario. Best case scenario is that he either contributes from the bullpen or fills in when a starter is hurt or ineffective. I'd much rather have him filling that role than Johan Pino.

I'm curious beckmt, would you deal Dozier now or when?

As I've posted in several other threads, the ability level of the roster is the determining factor in wins and losses, with everything else being periphery. I get as frustrated with Gardy as anybody (his mantra of "I want to play Santana at short" but never doing it is the latest thing to drive me nuts) but I don't believe the Twins will suddenly make a quantum leap forward from switching managers. I will say he deserves heat for his idiotic roster construction at the beginning of the year. My greatest concern about keeping him is his absolute faith in veterans at the expense of younger players who may be our future. That alone might make him the wrong person to manage us during this transition to younger players. Making changes to appeal to the fanbase is a poor way to run a franchise and should have no bearing on important decisions. Make decisions that give you the best chance to win and all the rest will take care of itself.

Does Garver bat right or left handed? Really interested to see what Walker can do in New Britain. How is his defense? He's a big man so I am wondering if he can stick in the outfield or his a DH in the future?

I would disagree with this assertion. The information required to make this type of decision is not available to TD posters - sorry. His actual working knowledge of pitching mechanics, his ability to relate to players, ability to communicate his thoughts effectively would all be the most important factors in a decision like this. We don't know this stuff and never will. Twins Daily is great - I visit every day but let's be honest. All of the this stuff (including mine) is speculation, pure and simple.

This. The act of firing someone is not akin to cleaning out your garage and should not be taken lightly. If he is truly deficient at his job, he should go but none of us has the information required to make that assesment. I get the whole "bottom line" argument but its not that simple. He's had horrible pitchers to work with over the last 4 years. For all we know, he might actually be really good at his job but there is only so much that coaches and managers can do. I wonder if the pitching coach in NY is getting ripped because he couldn't get the best out of Phil Hughes like the pitching coach in Minnesota?

I have several thoughts here.... Reason I don't want him here: if everyone keeps up with this "Dougie Baseball" bit I'm going to go nuts. Its old already and he is still in Ft. Myers. Reason I want him here: his wife is defintely worth a camera shot or 10. On a serious note: do we know he is any more forward thinking about sabrmetrics, etc. than Gardy? Just because he's younger doesn't necessarily mean anything. What we know for sure is that he's won but he has also really good players. My guess is that Jeff Smith is suddenly going to turn into a managerial genius the next year or so in New Britain.

What's holdin this team back is a lack of good players. I understand the frustration and I couldn't care less if they fire them all or bring them back. I just think we all have to be realistic about how much of an impact the manager and coaches really make. I can't find much of anything to defend Gardy and Andy. I am also ready to say that you could have hand picked your manager and pitching coach at the beginning of the year and the results would essentially be the same.

Actually, I don't believe coaching plays a "major" part. The Twins have had fundamentally sound teams and good pitching under this regime at certain points in the past. What it really shows is that the Twins just haven't had many good players lately. Fire them all if you want, just don't think coaching will take this starting rotation and turn it into gold. I'm not advocating for keeping them either but it is way more important to go get a couple of pitchers than a couple new coaches.

Absolves them of what? Approving of a survey question that Keith Olberman found funny? Complete non - issue.

First off, the Twins likely did not create or complete the survey. As another poster noted, this is almost always done by a third party specialty organization. Second - who cares? Is this really a big deal? Are we so hard up to rip the Twins that we are going to worry about this? I personally am glad they are ignoring it - shows that they might have something bigger to worry about.

Good thing he is giving Vargas hitting advice.......I like the potential that our lineup has and they have scored a lot of runs this year...however, they strike out way too much, which is one reason they tend to be inconsistent. Arcia is the poster child for this problem and he, along with several of his teammates are going to have to figure it out.

I would like to go get another outfielder or two but am not going to because......I am going to take all the money and go get a free agent starter that is equal to or better than Hughes. We have enough quantity, we need quality. I'm not worried about the contract or blocking someone because, first of all, we don't know that we will be blocking somebody and we do know that our current rotation is holding us back. If we do end up blocking somebody, its not really a problem because starting pitching is the best trade currency there is. I will worry about having too much quality pitching when we get there. As far as the lineup, I don't see major changes unless we can't sign a pitcher. If that were the case, I would add another outfielder with the watchword, again, being quality.and the ability to cover some ground. No more DH types in the outfield. Specifically, I am not even counting on Sano, Buxton or Rosario next year. Santana plays short with Esco and Nunez your utility guys. Plouffe at third, Dozier at second, Mauer at first. Suzuki and Pinto split behind the plate and Vargas is the full time DH. Arcia gets right and I hope that Hicks can handle center. If not we have to pick up an outfielder. At this point, if I'm only carrying one backup outfileder it is Schafer. I don't mind Parmalee as a bench bat as he can play multiple positions but I like the speed and better defense that Schafer brings. I would keep Parms on the 40 man if possible and deal him in the offseason. Same thing with Fryer, he's not part of my team next year but he might fetch a low level prospect since Butera did. Cola, Pino, Bernier, Floriman all DFAs. There are others I'm sure but I am doing this off the top of my head. As far as the field staff goes, I don't really care. I'm not a big believer that they make any substantive difference. No, Rick Anderson didn't wreck Tommy Milone in two weeks.........(he's org depth at AAA by the way; no way am I counting on him or Pelfrey next season).

I think people are underestimating that most of our young players in the lineup will continue to improve which makes the lineup better, even without adding new players. I'm of the school that they could very much use a left fielder and another starter but only if they are quality players. We don't need anymore quantity, especially with starting pitchers. I would go hard after someone that will move in at or near the top of the rotation. In the event that we end up with too many good, proven, candidates for the rotation, we can deal someone. After what we've seen the last few years, I will take that problem. With a rotation upgrade, this team will be 500 in 2015, with an outside chance at contending.

I'm surprised they are listing his fastball as a 4 seamer. It looks to me like he throws nothing but 2 seamers (which would be slower). A guy like him has literally no margin for error. His control has to be nearly perfect and when it isn't, he is going to get hit.

I guess that would be a problem......thought he signed a one year deal.

They need a quality starter much more than a left fielder (although they could use on of those as well). Having said that, we have enough quantity, we need quality. If we can't add a guy that is as good or better than Hughes, then don't bother. If we were able to add somebody of that caliber, I think this team could be better than many people think (plus 500). As far as left field goes, get Rajai Davis for one or two years. He's acceptable, can play center or left and, while not a great hitter, has some speed and defensive that would be an improvement. No longer interested in seeing Parms out there. I wanted him to get his ABs so we could find out what we have and now we know.

I hope we see Oliveros. He's been nearly dominant in Rochester for most of the year.

This is how teams get in trouble. Prospects are suspects until they actually do it. All the other SS prospects are so far away from the big leagues that to predict how they fit into the future in the big leagues is pure guessing (most will never even make it). Polanco is a second baseman, Michael has about two good months in the minors and is closer to Santana in age than people realize and the rest are years away from the majors. Other than Gordon, my prediction is that none of the others achieve in the majors what Escobar or Santana has done this year. That's why you keep them both - to make sure you have something decent to run out there for the foreseeable future.