Don't Feed the Greed Guy

This quote, from LEN 3, says it all: "His future is at short, but Gardenhire sees center field as a way to play him more often. Santana has played 23 games in center in the minors, including two in 2012 while at Class AA New Britain. With Aaron Hicks struggling to hit and Sam Fuld on the disabled list because of a concussion, Santana might be the best-equipped player the Twins have to play center." http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/258999511.html It's ridiculous to think that a few games in centerfield will destroy Santana's status as the Twins shortstop of the future. Sometimes we treat professional players like porcelain dolls, rather than kids who, in a pinch, just want to play and help their team win--especially when their team is in a bad spot due to injuries and "terrible" roster moves. Santana seems to be a gamer. I hope Gardy finds a way to keep him in the lineup, whether that means playing him at short, or in center.

I still see Fuld (when he returns from that concussion DL thingee) as the stopgap CF until Buxton emerges, or Hicks exorcises some demons in AAA. All I'm saying is that Santana should be the backup CF until that time comes, rather than wasting resources on a free agent CF. He should be the primary SS with Escobar and Nunez as utility guys behind him. Do you really think that if Santana starts in CF once or twice a week over this summer that his future as a SS will be jeopardized? Again, I see this as the "least terrible option."

The Twins have experimented with the "terrible" idea of playing Santana in centerfield 23 times over his minor league career. Given the Twins terrible management of their 40 Man Roster, this might be the least terrible option, among many that are worse.

I consider myself to be a longtime fan, who weathered the Calvin Griffith years when the Twins roster was sold off/bought off young talent to California (Bostock and Carew) and New York (Smalley and Wynegar). But the 2014 Reunion Tour of aging talents like Guerrier, Kubel, and Bartlett is a new low in the opposite direction--at a time when the team should be rebuilding, not reliving the past. These recent roster/lineup moves reek of desperation. Heck, even Danny Santana has more experience in the outfield than Eduardo Escobar... Weird. And why/when will Joe Mauer go on the DL, at least retroactive to Sunday? This is getting bizarre...

Maybe Taylor Rogers has a progress chart like the one above, taped inside his locker. All I know is that the kid continues to show "off the charts" improvement every time he takes the mound. Last night that trend continued as Rogers shut out Trenton over 6.1 innings, his longest outing of the 2014 season. Once again, Rogers was particularly effective in the middle innings, when he stole the Thunder's bats for the third and fourth innings. How's this for a statistical progression? Over the past six starts, Rogers' per game ERA and opponents batting average have dropped at the following rates: ERA: 15.75 (4/5) 11.25 (4/11) 8.31 (4/18) 4.50 (4/25) 4.50 (5/1) 0.00 (5/7) BA: .409 .400 .316 .346 .217 .217 After last night's performance, Rogers can put another sticker on his progress board. It will be difficult to continue such an amazing progression along the winding road to the major leagues.

Sorry, can't type sarcasm...

Why is it that whenever a guy makes a lousy play, he comes up to bat in the next inning?

Regarding the initial scope of this thread--depth at centerfield. Danny Santana has played a grand total of 23 games in center and two games in leftfield over seven minor league seasons. Will that limited experience be enough until/if Aaron Hicks returns from that seven-day concussion/disabled list thingee? Will he stay longer as the backup centerfielder? My guess is that it's Fuld, Hicks, Santana, and a few Hail Mary's directed at the training room until Byron Buxton tears up the minors & makes his debut in the second half of this season. OR... the Twins stay hot and rent a pending 2015 free agent/centerfielder until the end of the season. What say you?

Taylor Rogers notched his first victory of the 2014 campaign, as the Rock Cats defeated the Senators 6-3 as part of a May Day doubleheader in Harrisburg. It was the first start where Rogers posted a WHIP below 1. He was strong in the middle innings, retiring nine in a row before he ran into trouble in the fifth inning, when he surrendered three hits, including a run-scoring double and a two-run homer. Rogers came back to pitch a perfect sixth before yielding the mound to Lester Oliveros who earned his fourth save. Improvement continues for the young lefthander. Progress, Progress, Progress. Here's a roster link to the New Britain website, and Rogers' statistical progress over his first five starts: http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=t538&t=p_pbp&pid=573124

No room for Ron Davis?

"Josmil Pinto has been one of the team's best hitters and he should probably stick mostly at DH for now, since his defense has been erratic and Kurt Suzuki has been very good all-around behind the plate." I would tend to respectfully disagree for a couple of reasons: 1) Pinto's future is behind the plate. His defense can't be as atrocious as some of Colabello's miscues. Using Pinto as the DH effectively puts either Arcia, Kubel, or Colabello on the bench. 2) Suzuki has certainly not shown himself as an exemplary handler of Twins' starting pitching. He caught Kevin Coreia's abysmal start last Friday, when the starters' cumulative ERA ballooned to 6.32. Remember last year when Twins starters paced the AL by giving up 5.26 runs/game? Where's Ryan Doumit when you need him??? Seriously, Suzuki has started 16 games at the catcher position. Pinto has started seven games as the Twins backstop. I would like to see those numbers flip-flopped in May, thus providing more opportunities to put Pinto's bat (12.2 HR's/AB for 4th in the AL & 5th in the AL in BB) in the lineup--along with Kubel, Cola, and Arcia--with Kubel sitting against virtually every lefthander.

More on progress... I haven't posted for two weeks, due to some unforeseen work issues, but here's a quick update on our 2013 Twins Daily Starting Pitcher of the Year. More progress. If success in the minor leagues is moving up one level each year, Taylor Rogers may still approach a mastery of AA, if he continues on the current trend. Here are some numbers over Rogers' first four starts: IP ERA 4/5 vs. Richmond: 4.0 15.75 4/11 at Portland: 4.0 11.25 4/18 vs. Portland: 4.1 8.31 4/25 vs. New Hamp: 6.0 4.50 18.1 9.33 Matt Straub of the Bristol Press reports: "Taylor Rogers, who had lost his first three starts in New Britain, found himself in quite a bit of trouble Thursday, but worked his way out of it and surrendered just three runs in six innings. His innings have risen in each of his last three starts and his runs allowed has decreased in every start." At that rate of improvement, Mr. Rogers should be throwing no-hitters by September, in time to move into the Rochester neighborhood in 2015... All the same, the key is to move up a level each year. So far, Rogers has struck out 21 over 18.1 innings pitched. And he's a lefty, and he has a pulse... For now, consider him the reverse Clint Eastwood in 2014, so far displaying the Ugly, and the Bad. Next start, we just may see the Good...

Arcia's three singles have to be the story of the day. I'd like to see him create change in the Twins lineup sooner, rather than later. Arcia/Kubel/Colabello should be DHing. Pinto needs to be behind the plate and batting out of the catcher spot in the lineup.

Time for bonus baseball!

NOOO!

Time for a 2 run homer...

Way to put the bat out, Doz. That's baseball.

A. Will Dozier get Fuld over? B. Will Mauer strike out, or drive him in?

Derek Wetmore did a nice job of sifting through some of Ron Gardenhire's comments regarding Fuld--especially any sense that Fuld might answer the Twins leadoff question. Here's a brief snippet of Wetmore's article on the 1500 ESPN website. (BTW: I'm very impressed with Wetmore's "Five Thoughts" post-game columns.) The full article is located here: http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Wetmore_Sam_Fuld_is_a_glove_guy_not_a_leadoff_hitter042114 "He can play anywhere in the outfield, he's a leadoff-type guy, ..." Fuld can play anywhere in the outfielder, that much is true. He had a strong defensive season in left field in 2011 for the Rays. In just more than 1,000 innings for his career in left field, Fuld has racked up 16 Defensive Runs Saved, according to FanGraphs. In roughly 500 innings in center, he has a -6 DRS, and in right he's a -6 DRS in just about 300 defensive innings. That makes him a passable defensive outfielder, but outside that 2011 season (+11 DRS), he's never done anything extraordinary. He certainly is not a "leadoff-type" guy, however. Fuld is a career .233/.312/.334 hitter, including .199/.270/.267 in 200 plate appearances last season. He has more career plate appearances batting leadoff than any other spot in the order, but outside of 115 plate appearances in 2009, he's never gotten on base at a respectable clip, which is a requirement of a leadoff hitter. Not that this matters, but his OBP from the leadoff spot in 297 plate appearances is .307. Let's move on to the next part of the quote. "...he can fly, he can steal bases," Gardenhire said. Fuld might be fast, but he's swiped just 38 bags in his career, and that includes 20 in 2011, by far his best season in the Majors. Those 38 steals have come in 51 attempts, which is a decent success rate but doesn't constitute all that many tries. Moving on. "He's one of those little guys who's a tough out and plays hard." As noted, his career OBP of .312 (and .270 OBP last season) makes him anything but a "tough out." Outfielders collectively got on base at a .323 clip last season, so he's actually a considerably easy out compared to his peers.

Wetmore has a nice piece on Colabello's swing, as a polar opposite to Hick's "French Mistake." Scroll down to point #2: http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Wetmore_5_thoughts041914

Yep, and that about says it all...

Did I say "vaunted" DH?

Time for our vaunted DH to produce!

So, here's Dom Deluise's version: