Seth Stohs

Butera and Colabello are very different and have little to do with each other in terms of the roster. Yes, because if Mauer and Doumit are going to be in the lineup most days, Butera (or some backup catcher) is needed. Also, I think too many people make a big deal about Colabello's age. Is he too old for his level of competition? That only really matters for top prospects, not for role players and I think we all know that he's a role player. It isn't his fault that organizations didn't give him a shot until he was 28, and then the Twins put him in AA. All he could do was perform, and he did. We're talking about a bench guy, part time 1B, part time DH, pinch hitter. His age isn't as important.

Grimes was moved to Catcher during Instructs. Duffey was unbelievable, and we'll see how things go going forward. HE was a 5th round pick. Chargois was a 2nd round pick. He was also hurt, so we didn't see what he could be. Can't really make anything from College pitchers dominating in E-Town. But I do like all those arms that the Twins drafted in 2012!

For those interested, here is a checklist of Q&As that I did over at SethSpeaks.net - SethSpeaks

Keep the suggestions coming in. I have two Q&As ready to post next week already. Both, in my opinion, are tremendous. I'm also sending out questions to a couple of guys that I think Twins fans will be quite in.

Justin Morneau is 'miles ahead' of where he was last offseason - Minnesota Twins news | 1500 ESPN Twin Cities ? Minnesota Sports News & Opinion (Twins, Vikings, Wolves, Wild, Gophers) | Sportswire: Minnesota Twins Phil Mackey interviewed Justin Morneau and it was vastly different from when Morneau spoke to the media early in spring training last year. For the first time in years, he has been able to enjoy a normal offseason. Good for him, and hopefully he can put up another monster season in 2013!

I've done a handful of 12 Questions With interviews here at Twins Daily, and I've got 3-5 more lined up (just have to send questions)... but it'd be very helpful if the Twins Daily community would help me out by letting me know a couple of players you would like to see interviewed. If you like, what is a question you would like to see that player asked? I have contacts, it'd just be helpful to know which ones to go after. Thank you, Seth

I've always liked Swisher. I enjoy charismatic players. He generally isn't a disrespectful player. His slide on Nishioka was not at all wrong. He is a terrific player. He takes tremendous at bats, takes a lot of pitchers, walks and he has home run power. He's a solid RF and a decent 1B. Would I have given him that contract? Probably not, but it's a nice signing. And, the Ohio State alum goes back to the state to play.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1267-Happy-Holidays-from-Twins-Daily

The Twins Daily personnel want to extend our best wishes for a very Happy holiday season to all of our readers. As I mentioned last week, the holidays start to signal that baseball season is approaching. The Minnesota Twins Winter Caravan will begin in the middle of January. That leads up to Twins Fest the final weekend of the month, and just over two weeks later, the Twins will begin their spring training in Ft. Myers. Generally speaking, very little happens between Christmas and New Years Day. At Twins Daily, we will obviously report and discuss any moves that the Twins make. There will be a couple of new blogs later in the week, but we are going to take a couple of days to enjoy spending time with friends and family for the holidays. Then, we will be back strong following the New Year. Then, we likely won't get another vacation until this time next year! That said, the Forums here at Twins Daily are always open. Feel free to discuss rumors, share ideas and interact with the Twins Daily community. Of course, we always believe that the comments should be intelligent and non-combative, but that should certainly be the case at this time of year. By the way, if you missed it over the weekend, be sure to check out friend of Twins Daily AJ Pettersen's new article at Baseball America. Just a great article on the love of baseball. Happy Holidays to all of you who have helped make Twins Daily successful and a fun place for all of us to go to read about our favorite team. Best wishes to each and every one of you! [ATTACH=CONFIG]2948[/ATTACH]

By the way, AJ told me that he's heading down to Ft. Myers right after the New Year. He plans on writing a series of blogs at that time. I, for one, look forward to it.

BaseballAmerica.com: Prospects: Player's Perspective: More Than Just A Bat Friend of Twins Daily and Twins Daily contributor AJ Pettersen had his second article posted at Baseball America. As we approve Christmas and the holidays and the time to, hopefully, be spent with family, this article is tremendous. It speaks a lot to his relationship with friends and neighbors growing up, but especially about his relationship with his dad, and much more. As I read it, I couldn't help but think of all my young years.If my brother or I asked our dad if he wanted to play catch, the answer was "Yes," the same answer my mom would give if we asked her. There was an empty lot on the next block from our house, and if we asked ever asked if he would hit us ground balls or fly balls, the answer was always yes. Another great article by AJ!

Sano and Buxton are definitely the consensus top two... I do want to clarify one thing... The title of this indicates that the Twins made this list. It's on the Twins website, but as others here have pointed out, this is Jonathan Mayo's list.

I think Butera would be claimed. The question is, should that matter? I think it should for this year... He can be the backup catcher this season while Herrmann gets a couple of months in Rochester and is ready if there's an injury. It allows Gardy to have both Mauer and Doumit in the lineup together... (like it or not, it's the reality)

Darren Wolfson tweeted last weekend, "#MNTwins source confirms Pelfrey move. When asked via text if he'll be ready for Opening Day, the source said, "Most likely not... close."" I have read somewhere that he was already throwing and throwing pretty well, so that's encouraging.

As has been mentioned, he does need one more season, although even DL seasons count. so, he's a lock already. Yes, it'd be great for him to catch around half of the time for the next few years, but everything at this point is just bonus for HOF voters.

The general comments that we hear are that Willingham would only fetch a middle of the rotation starter, at best. Can't imagine top 20 type prospects would be possible... not that I wouldn't ask!

Let me give this some thought... this is a great question!

I think AA is a little aggressive... I like Gonzalo Sanudo , but so far, he's been 'pretty decent' in the GCL, and he's pitching pretty well in Mexico. In reality, Colabello is likely seeing some pitchers that are AA caliber, a couple AAA guys, and probably quite a few A ball guy. I like Colabello, and as I wrote over and over, he was the story of the year in the Twins system (in my opinion). I'd like to see, and I think he deserves the opportunity to go to AAA and play... however, the also brought in Jeff Clement and a couple of other minor league first baseman. I hope that he proves himself in AAA, and I would LOVE to see him get a shot with the Twins, even just a cup of coffee. That would be an incredible story!!

ESPN's SweetSpot's Bill Baer wrote a nice article about Joe Mauer. Their comments are funny too. Time to appreciate Joe Mauer - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN

I haven't looked at every box score, but the ones I have looked at, he was in the outfield. I haven't seen him at 2B. Not sure if the Twins have given up on the 2B thing or if the Puerto Rican team manager just doesn't care and will keep him in the OF.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1262-Twins-Week-in-the-Winter-Leagues-(Dec-10-16)

We are one week from Christmas Day and two weeks from New Year’s Day. Once past those holidays, many Twins players, including minor leaguers, start making their trek to Ft. Myers in preparation for the 2013 season. The Twins have now made announcements about the Twins Winter Caravan which leads up to the ever-popular Twins Fest. Following Twins Fest, we will be just three weeks from one of the greatest phrases known to man, “Pitchers and Catchers reporting.” Many of the US players have returned in preparation for their holidays, and to get a little bit of time away before it all gets started again. However, there are still quite a few from the Twins organization playing abroad. Here’s how they did during the week from December 10 through December 16: VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Bruce Pugh, RHP On the week, Pugh pitched twice and threw 2.2 scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit, walked one and struckout two. He has pitched 13 innings over the course of 15 games for Caribes de Anzoategui. He has given up just one run on eight hits. He’s walked seven and struckout nine. Pugh’s fastball sits in the mid-90s, but his overall Venezuelan numbers do express what we have seen in his career. Although he has generally struckout a batter an inning, he also walks about a batter every other inning. Oswaldo Arcia – 4 Games, 2-15 (.133), HR (9), 3 RBI Eduardo Escobar – 3 Games, 1-9 (.111), 2B, BB, RBI Darin Mastroianni – 5 Games, 2-14 (.143), 2-2B Josmil Pinto – 1 Game, 1-3 (.333) Deolis Guerra – 1 Game, 0.2 IP, 1 strikeout Dakota Watts – 2 Games, 3.1 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts. MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Chris Colabello, 1B I think we’ll just name this one the Chris Colabello Award from this point forward. And, not just because he is now just one of two Twins farmhands playing in Mexico. For the week, he played in fix games. He went 6-19 (.316) with two doubles and a home run. Overall in Mexico, he has had 192 at bats in 54 games played. He is hitting .344/.414/.646 (1.0759) with 13 doubles, 15 home runs and 41 RBI. Gonzalo Sanudo – 1 Game, 0.1 innings, 3 hits, 5 earned runs, 2 walks. DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Samuel Deduno, RHP [ATTACH=CONFIG]2919[/ATTACH] Deduno made one start this week. The right-hander threw six shutout innings. He gave up just four hits, walked one and struckout nine. In 20.2 innings so far in the DWL, he has given up no runs on 13 hits. He’s walked nine, but he has struckout 26. Jhonathan Arias – 3 Games, 1-7 (.143), RBI Pedro Florimon – 3 Games, 0-2 (.000) Wilkin Ramirez – 3 Games , 1-8 (.125) Miguel Sano – 2 Games, 1-5 (.200), HR (4), 2 RBI Jason Lane – 1 Game, 0.2 innings, 6 runs, 3 earned runs, 5 hits Luis Perdomo – 2 Games, 3.0 innings, 0 earned runs, 2 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts. PUERTO RICO WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Eddie Rosario, OF For the third straight week, Eddie Rosario is the choice for hitter of the week. In three games, he went 9-23 (.391) with a double. Overall, in 23 games, he is hitting .369/.400/.536 with five doubles and three home runs. Angel Morales – 4 Games, 2-10 Danny Ortiz – 6 Games, 5-18 (.278), 3 BB, 2B Kennys Vargas – 4 Games, 2-15 (.133), BB Nelvin Fuentes – 1 Game, 0.2 IP, 0 hits, 0 earned runs, 2 BB, 2 K Josue Montanez – 2 Game, 3.1 IP, 0 hit, 0 runs, 2 BB, 1 K. AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE Player of the Week – JD Williams, OF Williams hit .283 (3-11) with a walk, a double and three RBI. In 21 games Down Under, he is hitting .227/.318/.267 (.585) with three doubles on the season. Logan Wade – 3 Games, 2-8 (.250), RBI Josh Hendricks – 3 Games, 1-6 (.167) Tim Atherton – 1 Game Started, 3.0 innings, 4 runs (3 earned), 4 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts Sam Gibbons – 1 Game Started, 3.1 innings, 6 hits, 6 BB, 4 earned runs, 2 K Tyler Herr – 2 Games, 0.2 innings, 3 hits, 1 BB, 5 runs (3 earned runs) Virgil Vasquez – 1 Game Started, 6.0 innings, 3 earned runs, 7 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts Feel free to discuss or ask any questions that you like. Also, feel free to pick a player of the week. Here were the nominees: Venezuela – Bruce Pugh Mexico – Chris Colabello Dominican – Samuel Deduno Puerto Rico – Eddie Rosario Australia – JD Williams