Seth Stohs

I didn't have a problem with trading Hardy at the time. I think if they would have received two relievers who were at least decent it wouldn't have been so bad. But getting nothing for him, and then him going and having his one great year last year kind of combined to a perfect storm. I'm surprised he didn't win the Gold Glove last year when he hit better.

The World Series is over. There will not be any Major League Baseball until spring training. It is 5 months until Opening Day. From April through October, the prime time schedule was booked with Twins games or other baseball options. So, now that there isn't baseball... what are you watching on TV? I'm always looking for advice on this topic. I have kind of forgotten what night certain shows are on, so let me know what you're watching. Me? I know on Wednesday nights, I'll be watching a lot of SyFy, with Ghost Hunters and Paranormal Witness. I'm officially a big fan of Parenthood. Big Bang Theory is on Thursday nights now, but it's also on (4 straight episodes!!) on TBS throughout the week. Of course, Friends is on Nick at Night or something like that from 10-12 each night. Monday nights I do like Two Broke Girls and How I Met Your Mother. Obviously I'll be watching Vikings games on Sundays and my fantasy football rosters will keep me interested in the NFL Games. I'm contemplating watching more NBA games. If Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love were healthy, I'd probably watch most of the Wolves games. I like the History Channel. And yes, I enjoy the signings shows, in moderation. So, help me out... What shows should I be watching, in your opinion? What shows should I watch on: Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday - Sunday -

Last year's winner was Jeremy Hellickson, who grew up in Iowa... It's about where the players are from. MN, SD, ND, IA, maybe WI...

The cutoff this year was 2 years and 139 days of service time. Alex Burnett was at about 2 years and 135 days, so he wasn't a Super 2.

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?1131-Twins-Announce-their-2012-Awards

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2585[/ATTACH] The Twins Cities chapter of the Baseball Writers of America voted for the Twins 2012 Diamond Awards They will be presented at the Diamond Awards Ceremony on Thursday, January 24th at Target Field, kicking off Twins Fest weekend. Feel free to discuss: MVP - Josh Willingham Pitcher of Year - Scott Diamond Most Improved - Ben Revere Rookie of the Year - Scott Diamond Determination and Leadership - Justin Morneau Media Good Guy - Glen Perkins Defensive Player of the Year - Ben Revere Upper Midwest Player of the Year - Joe Mauer Honestly, I can't disagree with any of them. One could argue that Scott Diamond could have also won the Most Improved. Some will argue that Joe Mauer could have been MVP, but since he got the Upper Midwest Player of the Year award, it's great that Willingham (who also deserved it) gets the MVP. What are your thoughts?

No, but he'd be a free agent after the 2018 season instead of the 2019 season by calling him up after about June 15th. If he is what he hope he is, that matters...

His performance in Venezuela is also saying he's too low on my list. The walks are something to watch, but there's no doubt that Mata has the talent. It'll be interesting to see if they have him start in Cedar Rapids next season. As for Minier, he'll be on the list in time, for sure. I'd like to see him put up some numbers (besides a big signing bonus) first. His signing bonus was huge though, so it'll be interesting to see if he comes to the States this year and gets time in the GCL.

he's a hard-throwing, 2nd round pick. Sickels generally ranks relief pitchers higher than I do. I typically don't rank them very high at all. So, the fact that the 30s, for me, is filled with relievers is actually quite revealing. I think that, if healthy, he could fly through the system. He could get to Rochester next year. He could be a late-inning reliever, and he's definitely someone to track.

He's a solid prospect. Of course, in the Appy League, we should be looking for much bigger numbers than that from a college power hitter. He didn't play every day for the E-Twins. He was a mid-rounds pick (16th/17th round) for a reason. He came up with the biggest hit of the season for the E-Twins in that championship game though.

Achter isn't a power arm in the same way... He's a really good pitcher. He has multiple pitches and he's very smart. I don't think he's got quite the fastball as those other guys, but he's able to hit his spots. I'm a big fan of his, and I think he can reach the big leagues as a long reliever/7th inning type.

Parmelee just last year 'earned' his opening day job in spring training... of course, roster spots decided by spring training performance is not good. The guys who had the best spring trainings for the Twins last year were Danny Valencia, Luke Hughes and Nick Blackburn. Simply, Hicks isn't quite ready. He's getting closer, but he's not there yet. So yes, Willingham, Span/Revere, and Parmelee will likely start the season in the OF, with Mastroianni as the 4th OF. In June, they can see where Arcia and Hicks are and how much they've improved. Super 2 won't be the reason they don't make it, but it SHOULD be a reasoning. In a season that we assume they won't compete for a playoff spot, it doesn't make sense to lose an arbitration year down the line. It's just smart. It's good business. This isn't a Mike Trout and the Angels situation.

Because he could probably be had on a minor league contract this offseason.

If Polanco can hit at all in the Midwest League next year, I'll rank him much higher than I did. Duffey was a 5th round pick. Chargois was a 2nd round pick. In a year from now, that may not mean much. But at this point, when they each have just 20 minor league innings (and lots of innings at Rice), Chargois has the track record. That said, Duffey was unbelievable in his debut! Romy Jimenez definitely is underrated. I thought he was older, but he's still just 20-21, so it's not like he's old for the level. Again, we'll see what happens in a full-season league. It's tough to make much out of Appy League numbers. Walker... it all comes down to his ability to make contact. His power is legit.

Well, my opinion is that injury was a huge part of it. He had no fewer than three serious injuries and two surgeries. The other option, and I know most here won't like it, is that he struggled because he was pushed to the Twins too quickly for the September call-up.

Baxendale has always been a starter and will start next year. I think Bard, if healthy, will get a chance to start. There had at one time been talk of having Melotakis make some starts. I would say that Zach Jones, Tyler Duffey and JT Chargois will be only relievers.

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?1130-Twins-Winter-League-Update

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2580[/ATTACH] There are a lot of Twins players playing in Winter Leagues in warm climates. I thought it would be good to provide Twins Daily readers with a quick update on how some are doing. Of course, at this point, all of these numbers are incredibly small sample, so take them for what they’re worth. ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE On Monday, Kyle Gibson had his first clunker in four starts. The right-hander gave up six runs on eight hits and a walk in just two innings. All of the runs came in the 2nd inning. With the loss, he is now 3-1 with a 4.20 ERA in 15 innings. He has walked three and struck out 20 batters. Reliever Michael Tonkin has been terrific through his first five games. In 6.1 innings, he has given up no runs on three hits. He has one walk to go with five strikeouts. Relief pitchers’ numbers really can look great or bad due to small sample size. Lefty Caleb Thielbar has made six appearances. He is 1-0 with a 10.80 ERA. In 6.2 innings, he has given up eight runs on 11 hits and a walk while striking out five. In his first three outings, he gave up one hit and no walks in three innings. Then in his next two outings, he gave up eight runs on eight hits and a walk in 2.1 innings. Reports from Peoria indicate that a couple of bad calls may have contributed in some degree. He came back on Saturday with 1.1 scoreless innings. Lefty Logan Darnell has been a starter since being the 6th round pick in 2010 from Kentucky. He has thrown over 150 innings each of the past two seasons. However, in the Fall League, he is working out of the bullpen. He gave up one run in two innings on Monday. In six games, he has given up three runs on nine hits and three walks. He has struckout eight in 9.2 innings. Chris Herrmann was 5-10 with a double and two walks in his three AFL games. Last week, he was sent home with some minor inflammation in his left (non-throwing) shoulder. He was replaced by catcher Dan Rohlfing who has played in one game since arriving. In it, he went 1-3. He had two RBI, one on a sacrifice fly and the other when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Outfielder Evan Bigley is hitting .206/.270/.294 in nine games. He is 7-34 with three doubles. In his past four games, he is 4-12 (.333) [ATTACH=CONFIG]2581[/ATTACH]Through eight games, outfielder Nate Roberts (and his mustache) were hitting .522/.647/.652 (1.299) with three doubles. He also had six walks to go with just two strikeouts. On Monday, he went 0-3 and was hit by a pitch (something he is very good at and takes a lot of pride in) which dropped his average to .462. VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE As you know, many Twins players play for Aragua in the VWL. Outfielder Oswaldo Arcia is hitting .182/.194/.303 (.497) through the first 13 games. He is 6-33 with a double. He hit his first home run over the weekend. He has walked just once and struckout 12 times. Catcher Josmil Pinto is 0-4 in two games for Aragua. Right-hander David Bromberg is 0-0 with a 2.08 ERA in three starts and 13 innings. The peripherals don’t look quite as good. In those 13 innings, he has given up 12 hits and eight walks while striking out nine. However, he has been able to go at least five innings in his last two starts. Lefty Edgar Ibarra is 1-2 with a 9.22 ERA through four starts and 13.2 innings. He has given up 20 hits, walked eight and struckout 15. Ibarra split his 2012 season between Ft. Myers and New Britain and made 42 appearances, all out of the bullpen. On October 18, he threw five shutout innings and gave up just two hits and a walk. His next start, he gave up eight runs on seven hits and three walks in just two innings. 19-year-old righty Angel Mata went 4-3 with a 3.38 ERA for Elizabethton this season. He is pitching out of the bullpen for Aragua. In five games, he has given up just one run on six hits and three walks in eight innings. He also has 11 strikeouts. Right-hander Miguel Munoz missed much of the 2011 season with an elbow injury. He returned in 2012 and pitched 63.2 innings in 28 games (6 starts). For Aragua, he has given up three runs on four hits and two walks in just two innings so far. Righty Dakota Watts had a very good season pitching in the bullpens for Ft. Myers and New Britain. He missed time at the start of the season due to shoulder tendonitis. He arrived in Aragua. In his first game, he gave up a hit to the one batter he faced. The next night, he gave up three runs on one hit, one hit batter and one walk. The hit was a home run. In his third game, he gave up one run in two innings. He has not pitched in a week. There are several other Twins players around the VWL. Aaron Hicks has come back down to earth for Margarita. In 11 games, he is now hitting .238/.347/.357 (.704) with two doubles, a home run and five RBI. He is 10-42 with seven walks and 15 strikeouts. In the four games he has played in over the past week, he is 1-12 with five walks and five strikeouts. Eduardo Escobar is a combined 3-24 (.125) with two teams this winter. Deolis Guerra has given up one run on three hits in 1.2 innings so far for Magallanes. Yorman Landa has given up three runs on three hits and six walks in 3.2 innings. He pitched for the GCL Twins in 2012 and is certainly considered a prospect. DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE The Twins have several players playing around the Dominican Republic as well. Coming in to play on Monday, Drew Butera was hitting .300/.462/.400 (.862) with two doubles and five RBI. However, on Monday, he went 0-4 to drop his average to .250. Pedro Florimon’s bat was off to a slow start. Coming into the game on Monday, he was 3-31 (.097). He was 0-3 on Monday night before a single in his final at bat. So, he is now 4-35 (.114) over the small sample of nine games. Outfielder Wilkin Ramirez is 3-21 (.143) with a double and triple through his first seven games. Miguel Sano made his DWL debut over the weekend and went 1-4 with a walk. Luis Perdomo gave up one hit in 1.2 scoreless innings in his only appearance to this point. MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE Anthony Slama is pitching for Mazatlan. He has pitched in four games to this point. In 4.2 innings, he has given up no runs on three hits and two walks while striking out two. 1B Chris Colabello is hitting .234/.280/.362 (.642) with six doubles in his first 13 games. He is 11-47, so more than half of his hits have been for extra bases. In his past eight games, he is just 2-28 (.071). AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE The ABL has been playing an exhibition schedule the past ten days. The season officially kicks off on Thursday, November 1. Two team’s rosters do not have any current or former Twins. Here is a quick look at the Twins-related players on the four other rosters: Brisbane Bandits: Current Twins: LHP Aaron Thompson, 1B/OF Rory Rhodes, IF Logan Wade. Former Twins: RHP Tristan Crawford. Melbourne Aces: Current Twins: RHP Sam Gibbons, LHP Lewis Thorpe, OF Josh Hendricks. Former Twins: OF Justin Huber. Perth Heat: Current Twins: RHP Liam Hendriks. Former Twins: RHP Brendan Wise, C Allan De San Miguel, IF Luke Hughes. Sydney Blue Sox: Current Twins: RHP Tim Atherton, RHP Tyler Herr, IF Jacob Younis, OF JD Williams. Former Twins: LHP Brad Thomas, RHP Todd Van Steensel, RHP Matthew Williams, and Coach Glenn Williams. For the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks fans out there, shortstop Zach Penprase also plays for the Blue Sox. That's a lot of players continuing their 2012 seasons with some more innings pitched or plate appearances. Note also that other players will get some time as well.

I think anyone who uses Nishi as a reason to NOT go after a player from Japan or Taiwan or in this case South Korea is crazy. The Twins need pitching and if there is quality pitching from the Far East, the US draft, the Caribbean, Europe, Antarctica, they should be interested! Now, I won't pretend to know enough about this guy to say either way, but if he has talent, go for it. I just don't like that Nishioka comment.

The Twins also announced this afternoon that RHP Nick Blackburn had arthroscopic elbow surgery to remove bone chips last Thursday.

The Twins announced this afternoon that they have agreed to terms with RHP PJ Walters on a minor league deal. This is good news for depth.