Seth Stohs

Back through the division-winning years last decade, the Twins typically would have just one, maybe two, rookies come up each year. Over the last two years, the Twins have called up a lot of young players. As much as I want to see the young players keep coming up, I want the Twins winning. So, if Nolasco is pitching well, and Berrios spends a little longer in AAA, it doesn't hurt. And, as much as I would like to see Duffey in the big leagues, he only has nine starts in MLB, so it's not like he's a grizzled veteran. If he goes to AAA, it isn't necessarily a bad thing if there are lots of pitchers doing well in front of him. That all said... pitchers are just making their 2nd starts, so it's too early to make much out of anything yet... including performances from LH RP.

I've only listened to them, but I want to say that today Floyd was hitting 94 with his fastball. The other was off of Odorizzi, and he is known to hit 94 at times too.

Yes, there have been a lot of changes in the organization in the last several years. Medical has been better. They've come a long way in the statistical analytics area in the last 2-3 years. Their usage of things like Trackman and having video all over the minor leagues is great. Frankly, the whole concept that they're behind the curve on some of these things just isn't true. At worst, they're middle of the pack at this point.

Baseball Prospectus posted their Top 10 Twins prospects today. Fairly similar up top, though there is some surprise at #10. what are your thoughts? http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=28602

I agree on both counts.

Don't expect him to be a "plus" outfielder, but he certainly can be solid. His range could improve to a little below average. Yes, he hasn't hit left-handed pitching. That was one of a few knocks. I think that Sano will and should play every day. Now, there may be days that they let Sano DH and Arcia can play RF, but there will be no platoon involving Sano. Remember, it's only like 13 plate appearances for him right now, and a couple of nice plays. Certainly encouraging, but let's see how it goes.

1500 ESPNs Derek Wetmore had a chance to talk to several with the Twins about some technologies, including a "sports bra" that they hope to use to be ahead of the game one this research. Wetmore was told that between two and four teams have purchased the Catapult system. What the medical staff wants to be able to do is quantify various things in an attempt to keep players on the field. Very interesting stuff throughout. In typical Terry Ryan fashion, when the medical staff came to him about this, he said, "Can it make us better? If so, let's get it."

Yeah, we'd hate to speculate too much before the season started or be optimistic or anything.

At the end of the day, he can work out as much as he wants, but right or wrong, at this point he has to produce. He'll be a bench bat to start the season, pending injury, so that makes it even tougher to get into a rhythm. Age and potential are on his side. Playing time may not be.

It's been well reported here and elsewhere that Arcia chose not to play winter ball in Venezuela so that he could work with the Twins training staff in Ft. Myers. Pictures of him showed that he is much stronger than he was previously. We'll see what happens in season, but probably for the first time in his career, his work ethic can't be questions.

I was at that game. Sitting in the 5th row, by the Twins dugout. As Thome hit that ball, the sound from 38,000 people rang down. It was so loud. And I got a high-five from Khalid El-Amin! Thornton was so shut-down at that time, especially against lefties. That was just such a great moment! Kubel... man, you just can't help but wonder what could have been if not for that devastating knee injury in the AFL. Some interesting names from the '70s too!

My proposal for Gibson would be just to go with two-years, $10 million. Or, they could rip up his 2016 deal, make it $1 million, and then have a 3-year, $11 million. For Gibson, if he continues to improve, he still has a year of arbitration in which he can make a bunch. Also, regardless of whatever happens, he'd have $10-11 million guaranteed. For the Twins, they have control of him for three more years after this year. It gives them a little more cost certainty the next two years. It isn't a very long commitment. It allows them to see how Gibson does and how Berrios and other minor leaguers progress. And when that deal is up, they still have another year of his control either way. Eliminates some of the long-term risk. Would he take it? Not sure.

Late last season in Chattanooga, Burdi came back from Ft. Myers and was setting up for Chargois through their Southern League championship run. But, I think most would view Burdi as the future closer and Chargois setting up... though I don't really think it matters much. Both have the right mentality for it. Burdi's got the two pitches and is working on that split. Chargois already has three pitches. Could be a lot of fun to watch!

#ParkBang

He said he was going to experiment with sunglasses this spring. He said he didn't have issues every game. Just occasionally. He's been taking some batting practice with glasses. He's someone, and most think it's wise, who takes a lot of pitches early in spring training to see pitches. Not a big deal in the regular season, much less in the spring.

I don't think anyone in the Twin Cities media knew about it. If someone did, I'd be proud of them for not writing it especially if Sano asked them not to. My guess is that no one knew. It's a story that needs to be told but I'm good with allowing him privacy. I also think it's very impressive that it didn't come out for 18 months. It means a lot of people were able to keep it quiet (Mientkiewicz, Sano, others that were aware of it)

Without question, my first real hero in baseball was Kirby Puckett. Without question, Kirby Puckett was my last real baseball hero. Anyone who grew up a baseball fan in the mid-80s through the mid-90s likely had the same baseball role model as me, Kirby Puckett. Ten years ago today, Kirby Puckett passed away at the age of 45, a day after suffering a massive stroke at his home in Arizona. I’ve shared some of the below at various times in the past, but I felt like sharing my thoughts on Puckett. I’m certain, and I hope, many of you will share your memories as well. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs Without question, my first real hero in baseball was Kirby Puckett. Without question, Kirby Puckett was my last real baseball hero. Anyone who grew up a baseball fan in the mid-80s through the mid-90s likely had the same baseball role model as me, Kirby Puckett. Ten years ago today, Kirby Puckett passed away at the age of 45, a day after suffering a massive stroke at his home in Arizona. I’ve shared some of the below at various times in the past, but I felt like sharing my thoughts on Puckett. I’m certain, and I hope, many of you will share your memories as well. March 5, 2006, was a Sunday. I was at my house surfing the internet. Early in the afternoon, news came out the Kirby Puckett had suffered a stroke. It was a shock, one of those moments where your heart misses a beat. But all along I kept thinking, “Well, it’s Kirby Puckett. He’s going to be OK. He's got to be OK.” It wasn’t long before the tone of the reports shifted and the outlook didn’t look very good. We heard that Dan Gladden and others were traveling to Arizona. I went to work that Monday morning with a heavy heart. As soon as I got to the office, I printed off a picture of Kirby Puckett and taped it up on the overhead bin in my cubicle. Under it, another print-out had the words “Get Well, Kirby!” If I recall, Puckett passed away that morning. I read the news. The “Get Well Kirby” was replaced with “RIP, Kirby! The Greatest!” I had been blogging for about three years already at that time so people around the office knew that I was a baseball fan and a Twins fan. Before noon, I had dozens of people come to my desk and feel the need to talk about, to ask me if I had heard. I answered their questions. But it hurt. I had to leave. I just had to get out of the office. I left the office and went home. I just wanted to be alone. I don’t remember if I shed tears, but I do remember just sitting in a chair, numb. I remember asking myself how many 30-year-olds in Minnesota were feeling the same way I was. That was a rough day. -------------------------------------------------- When you’re young and you play baseball, you have to have a favorite player and a favorite team. Being from Minnesota, of course my favorite team was the Minnesota Twins. Favorite player? Well, everyone had TBS at that time, and I watched quite a few Braves games. For some reason, I never really liked the Cubs, but I loved the Braves. Claudell Washington was my first favorite player. But I was a Twins fan. My parents would take us to the Metrodome a time or two a year. We’d get there for batting practice and try to get some autographs. The Twins were on TV much less at that time, and living in the outstate, it was even more rare. It wasn’t until 1989 that the Twins games were on Midwest Sports Center (and later Fox Sports North) and we could get a large majority of the games. In 1984, I was eight years old. Kirby Puckett was called up to the Twins. He had four hits in his big league debut. I was immediately a fan. Was it because he was short and stocky, like eight-year-old me? Maybe. Was it that he was really fast and the Twins really needed a center fielder badly? I guess, but probably not likely. Was it because he had such a cool name? I think there is a lot of truth in that one. I had been collecting baseball cards since 1982 and had already learned what the numbers on the back meant and could do a lot of the math in my head. By 1984, I was reading box scores in the newspaper most every day. And now I had a name that I could look for first in the paper. Puckett CF 5 1 2 1 When I did watch him more, I just enjoyed it. He swung at pretty much everything. The pitch could be six inches off the plate, and he would swing, and usually end up getting a hit. He played so hard, and he looked like he was having a blast. I remember getting ready for school one day in 1985, Puckett’s second season. It was late April. Puckett did not hit a home run during his rookie season. On April 22, 1985, Puckett hit his first home run. I believe it was after my bedtime. The next morning, I remember sitting on the living room couch, struggling to tie my shoes. My mom came into the room and said, “Seth, did you hear? Kirby Puckett his his first home run last night!” I was so excited, but that’s what it is like for a kid’s favorite player. You remember the minutiae like sitting on the couch and looking at your mom when she walks into the room. Mom walked into the room where I was getting ready for school hundreds of times in my youth. That morning is the only one that I remember vividly. That’s what it is when you have a sports hero. A few years later, I was playing summer baseball on a team where we got real uniforms. What number did I request? 34, of course. While I wasn’t always able to get that number, I tried. When I moved up to varsity basketball as a junior, something strange happened. Home jerseys were odd numbers, and road jerseys were even numbers. My home jersey number was 55. My varsity baseball number had been five, and my high school football number became 55, so I was happy with 55. Because of that, I probably should have gone with uniform 54 on the road in basketball. No, I went with 34. ---------------------------------------------- It’s awesome when the player that you idolized as an eight-year-old becomes a great player too. That doesn’t hurt. And, Puckett was a great, great player. Think about it. As a rookie he hit .292 and finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting. The next year, he hit .288. And then he took off. From 1986 through 1995, he was an all-star all ten years. He won six Gold Gloves in center field and made so many of those leaping catches over the eight-foot wall. He won six Silver Slugger awards. He finished in the top 10 in AL MVP voting seven times, finishing second in 1992 and third in 1987 and 1988. Five times he had over 200 hits and led the league four times. Sure, he didn’t like walking, but advanced stats sure showed him to be great. After those first two seasons, his OPS+ never dipped below 119. Because of his physique, people would often talk about how he wouldn't age well on the field. His final two seasons were 1994 and 1995. They were his age 34 and 35 seasons. He posted OPS of .902 and .894, the third and fifth best seasons of his career. ---------------------------------------- Kirby Puckett joined a strong core of young players when he came up, and that core helped the Twins to the 1987 championship. Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, Tom Brunansky, and Tim Laudner were all with the Twins already when Puckett joined them. That 1987 team was special. They were a group of guys who seemed to really gel together as a team, and build into a champion. Twins fans felt it. Twins fans even today recall that team and those players with special fondness. Brunansky was traded early in 1988. Viola won the 1988 Cy Young but in 1989 he was traded. Gary Gaetti left via free agency. However, Puckett and Hrbek were still around. So were Dan Gladden, Al Newman and Gene Larkin. They were now joined by the likes of Knoblauch, Scott Erickson and Rule 5 pick Shane Mack. Kevin Tapani and Rick Aguilera came to the Twins in the Viola trade. The Twins brought in Jack Morris, Chili Davis and Mike Pagliarulo via free agency. That team was also very special. In 1990, the Twins had the worst record in the American League. In 1991, the Twins faced the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. The Braves had finished last in the National League in 1990. The two teams produced what many call the greatest World Series of all time. Kirby Puckett played a big role in each of those World Championships. He had those shining moments that fans just can’t forget. He was fortunate that his teammates helped get the team to the position where Puckett could come up big. Consider the following: 1987 ALCS vs Detroit - He went 1-13 in the first three games of the series before going 4-11 with a homer in the final two games. 1987 World Series - Through game five, Puckett was just 4-20 (.200). Then in Game 6, he went 4-4. Then he went 2-4 with a double in Game 7. 1991 ALCS vs Toronto - He was 1-7 in the first two games. In games three through five, he went 8-14 with a double and two home runs. 1991 World Series - Through the first five games, Puckett went 3-18 (.167). And we all remember Game 6. He had The Catch, and then he had the “We’ll see you tomorrow night” walk-off home run to send it to Game 7. Fans love the story of Puckett going into the the clubhouse before Game 6 in 1991 and telling the team that he was going to put them on his back. And then he came through. Puckett was the clear leader of those Tom Kelly championship teams. In 1987, I was in 7th grade. I remember after Game 5 thinking that the Twins were down 3-2, but they were good at home. I had hope, but it was tough. I remember Game 7. My family was watching the game upstairs on our main TV. I was down in the unfinished basement, watching on a fuzzy, snowy, black-and-white TV. By myself. I couldn’t stand to be around people. It was just too exciting. In 1991, I was a junior in high school. I mean, I remember it much, much more. I remember that feeling in my heart during Game 6. I remember the intensity of Game 7. Jack Morris was tremendous, but so was John Smoltz. Do you remember the 3-2-3 double play? Ron Gant and Kent Hrbek. Chuck Knoblauch deeking Lonnie Smith to save a run. Gene Larkin singling to deep right. Dan Gladden running home from third. Ron Gardenhire running around third base as if he were an airplane. Jack Morris summoning Gladden to and the simultaneous jump of that pile as Gladden hopped on home plate. ------------------------------------------------------------- Things ended unfortunately for Puckett. He was hit by a running Dennis Martinez pitch very late in that 1995 season. His jaw was broken and his season was over. Although that incident is not the reason, it would prove to be the final at-bat of his career. It ended his season. He came to spring training in 1996, and he was just crushing the ball. Paul Molitor had signed with the team, and Chuck Knoblauch was one of the game’s best players at that time. There was a lot of excitement. However, on March 28th, right before the start of the season, Puckett woke up unable to see out of his right eye. Soon, he was diagnosed with glaucoma. Four surgeries later and nothing more could be done. Puckett announced his retirement. At this point, I was in college. It was another moment where my eyes just might have contained some sweat. Watching the press conference and seeing tears flowing from Knoblauch and Molitor’s eyes was hard. ------------------------------------------------- Five years later, he was on the Hall of Fame ballot. In my mind, he was an easy choice to be a Hall of Famer, but until it is official you just never know. In the end, Puckett easily made it in the first ballot. Immediately I made calls to my dad and my brother. We had a trip to plan. Along with a high school friend and his dad, we went to Cooperstown for the Hall of Fame induction weekend in 2001. Being there was an amazing experience. The Museum is a bucket list thing for all baseball fans. I’m sure many of you were there too. Based on the number of fans who came from Minnesota I know some of you did. ------------------------------------------------------ Following Puckett’s Hall of Fame induction, things got bad for Puckett. News came out about his personal life that was too terrible to be ignored. There were accusations of domestic abuse. Puckett was shown to be unfaithful to his wife publicly, even though it was clear that Twins media appeared to have some knowledge of it. More and more information came out, and then there was the Frank Deford article in Sports Illustrated. The cover showed Puckett as a player and also at his current state and had the title, “The Secret Life of Kirby Puckett.” It was through that even, again in 2001, that I would never place an athlete or anyone else on a pedestal the way that I had done with Puckett. To this day, I 100% respect any athlete’s ability to play the game, but it’s hard to know what’s really going on behind closed doors. It was an important lesson for me, and it should be for others as well. Respect the player. Respect the way he plays the game and the success that he experiences. Notice and appreciate the work that the players do off the field and in the community. And just leave it at that. Imagine how Puckett might be judged now had Twitter been around at that time. ----------------------------------------------------- Kirby Puckett was my hero. Getting one of his baseball cards was always a good feeling. Watching him play the game for 12 years in a Twins uniform. If you are anywhere near my age I’m guessing the Kirby Puckett holds a special place in your heart to this day. Ten years ago today Puckett’s life came to an end. It was a day of great sadness, and a lot of soul searching. Here I am, ten year later, and thinking about Kirby Puckett still brings back great memories. He wasn’t a perfect player, but he was an all-time great. He was a Hall of Famer. He did a lot in the community. He always played hard, and he always had the big smile on his face. He had some big moments, and he led our favorite team to two World Series championships. View full article

Tyler Hepner with a very nice article on Sano in the NY Times. Maybe others were aware of this story, but I just saw it today. In November of 2014, Miguel Sano became a father. About a week later, his daughter died due to a heart defect. The article talks about how he really struggled at times in the second half. Doug Mientkiewicz was very important, talking to him and helping him. He's got a good support group. Obviously, he came back in June to performing like we knew he could. We talked a lot about how coming back from Tommy John caused his slow start last year in AA but this certainly adds a lot. It's so important, in my opinion, to remember that we don't know the full story of what's going on it these guys' lives.

The results of Nolasco's outing were still pretty meaningless in the big picture. Regardless of who he was facing.

He fits into the category with Pressly and Tonkin and such. He could, but after being pushed to MLB last year, and likely learning a ton, he can got back to AAA and hopefully develop more and more.

Zero reason to be concerned for the first couple of weeks, as Dante says above. A key thing, long-term, for him will be to avoid swinging at those low and away breaking pitches. That was an issue for a couple of years with Torii Hunter and Michael Cuddyer. That takes time and a lot of at bats. I'm going to be more concerned if he keeps missing fastballs down the middle of the plate like he did last year at times. My level of concern for Buxton long term is about 2.8%

Fair point. I won't worry ever about any one outing, but I feel better about Taylor Rogers clearly looking nervous and short-arming pitches and not having real good control in his inning than about Nolasco getting rocked. Though, to be fair, Nolasco was hurt a little by his RF, but even there, that ball was absolutely crushed.

Absolutely correct... They'll get a chance to work with Neil Allen and Eddie Guardado. They may meet some struggles (they will), and they can be optioned with an encouraging message of "Here's what you need to work on, and you'll be back soon." They can replace that guy with another young guy. That's what I would do. I'm not suggesting that's what the Twins will do, and of course, I don't necessarily think there isn't value in having veteran types too. It should be a mix though.

You are absolutely correct... I updated it accordingly! Thank you!