Don't Feed the Greed Guy

I think Arcia should be in the field. He recorded five assists in 83 games last season. He's not great, but can be an average corner outfielder until Buxton, Hicks and Rosario make him a DH/4th OF. By the way, Kubel recorded 14 assists for Arizona in 2012! He tied Torii Hunter for fourth among MLB OF's.

Not that he will lead the club, but Aaron Hicks hit 8 home runs in 281 at bats last year... Baseball Reference projects that to 16 homers over a 162 game season. I'm going to go with Mauer. He will match 2009 with 28 homers. "If only the baby Jesus would stop growing and put on some man muscle..." Oh, yeah. He's 30 years old now.

Hmm, sorry I didn't catch this sooner. I can think of at least seven: Bert Blyleven, Steve Carlton, Jim Kaat, Jack Morris, Niekro, Jim Perry... Any others?

Just confirming that the other signature is Brian Dozier. He signed this t-shirt for my son at TwinsFest.

Ah yes, an emery memory...

I still like Florimon, but if Kmart suddenly announces a Blue Light Special on thirty year-old free agent shortstops...

I agree with you on Swarzak. He posted a 2.91 ERA over 96 innings in 2013, and a 1.16 WHIP. More importantly, Swarzy survived Twinsfest with no wrestling injuries! Worley or Diamond can swap places with him in long relief. Either Pelfrey, Hughes, Nolasco, or Correia will extend their time in Florida with a sore shoulder or a pulled hammy. I also wonder what Deduno could do out of the pen, not unlike the Perkins conversion.

Regarding Jim Souhan's powers of speculation, this is strike two. He wants to extend Willingham. He wanted Gopher's football coach, Jerry Kill, to resign. http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/223780401.html Willing-ham = Logging-jam if he's in the Twins lineup much longer.

I like this progression during the 2014 regular season, based upon on-the-field performance, not merely potential: J.D. Williams: (et al.) A to AA Buxton: AA to AAA, September call-up to MLB Hicks: AAA to MLB I would like to see these players on the field every day, whether in the minors, or when their performance makes Kubel, Willingham, Parmelee, Mastro and/or Presley expendable/releasable/tradable around the All-Star break, if not earlier. The tricky balance is allowing for a natural progression of talent, rather than creating a logjam at the highest levels in the organization. Throw in Rosario as the wild card as he comes off his 50 game suspension.

Here's a clue:

While you spotlight the top prospects (#4) in Florida, I'll be in Scottsdale for a week, watching Morneau and Cuddyer pull hamstrings and sit in rocking chairs. In a year or two they will be back in Ft. Myers, pushing Bartlett and Kubel around the bases in wheelchairs.

Another caption-able moment.... (Sorry for not following the dress code, but the number is in sequence.)

Two possible captions. 1. "Here's the awkward delivery, and whiplash..." and, 2. "Your friendly neighborhood blown saves leader is..."

Open the gates for home team batting practice 2 1/2 hours before the game, instead of the current policy of opening up 1 1/2 hours before game time. And, don't charge for it. If autograph hounds are a problem, then at least let the kids shag home run balls in the outfield seats. Here are the present Twins policies, below. Batting Practice The Minnesota Twins typically start batting practice 2 ½ hours prior to game time, with the opposing team taking batting practice beginning 1 ½ hours prior to game time. Batting practice always occurs at the Manager's discretion. Q. What time do gates open? A. Weekdays (Monday - Thursday), gates open 1 1/2 hours prior to the scheduled game time; and on weekends (Friday - Sunday), gates open 2 hours prior to the scheduled game time. Please reference the Twins website for any updates, changes or additions to the Twins schedule.

If you have to, look away and weep.... If you still have the stomach, here's another...

Thanks! Exciting. I sent a request to do some writing. What a great story, especially in the wake of the Winter Olympics and the Ted & Katie Uhlaender angle.

The Game Theory link is a fascinating read for those who like to link sports to leadership. The Sword of Damocles? You don't get to read about that in a baseball blog too often. Cool read.

I appreciate your list, except for the fact that this game is played in front of millions of swooning fans. A-Fraud won't make the Hall of Fame, so long as the steroid cloud trumps statistics. For this reason Ozzie Smith and Cal Ripken move up the list purely based upon the "what have you done for me lately?" critique. There are 51 Yankees in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Derek Jeter is a Yankee. Jeter has more hits than any Yankee to ever put on the pinstripes. Therefore, Jeter will be remembered as one of the greatest Yankees. Will he be remembered as one of the greatest shortstops of all time? Probably. Does he deserve to be among the top ten? Yes. The top five? No way. BTW, I love the title of this thread. Spirit...Dave's title is about as subtle as Al Franken's love for Rush Limbaugh.

"No prospect is a sure thing." A good and proper warning, Nick. However, this fan delights in seeing a good thing play out. One of my mentors has coached me over the course of my career path with the words, "Let it play out, Mark. Let it play out." The fact that the Twins' farm system is loaded makes Target Field a target-rich environment. To use a shotgun metaphor, a shotgun shell is loaded with bb's and firepower. There are magnum loads and trap loads. Lead shot, steel shot, tungsten, toxic, and nontoxic. Just for the sake of a visual, take a look at these shells: If each shell represents a ballplayer, some might be loaded with one or two "plus" or "plus-plus" loads. Others with more or less skills--or loads--based upon position, offensive or defensive ability, and off-the-field attributes like leadership, age, personality, work ethic, and the like. The oft-referenced "five tool guy" would be the ideal load, in a manner of speaking. Some in this thread have begun to speculate that the Big Three of Meyer, Sano, and Buxton pack so much firepower that they will play themselves out of Target Field's income stream in five or six years. How much fun would it be to see that problem play out? Will the loads that are being packed and prepared in the minor leagues hit the target, hang fire, or fizzle out? We might also call them "studs and duds." My mind plays old tapes of Dick and Bert, extolling all of the young talent that keeps rolling out of the Kansas City Royals' farm system. So? What do they have to show for so much talent? Too soon to tell? I hear my coach, whispering over my shoulder, "Let it play out, Mark. Let it play out." The sheer number of players, moving through the Twins system, waiting for their "shot" is impressive. Indeed, "no prospect is a sure thing," but the law of averages weighs in our favor. Variables like quality and quantity bring greater surety in this game. It comes down to a larger number of chances to hit the Target. All I know is this: This fan will enjoy seeing it all play out.

Just a positive note about expert and "armchair" doctors... This is a developing story and a developing thread. Both are occurring simultaneously. As this story unfolds, it offers all of us an opportunity to learn about various forms of cancer. Some may post from a position of ignorance. I would say that is far better than silence. It give us all an opportunity to learn, be better informed, and vigilant against cancer. When we are sitting at our office cubicle, or when we are taking a shower, or putting sunscreen on ourselves or someone else later this summer, and we discover something unusual, we might begin to know what to do. Thanks to our dermatologist friend for chiming in, by the way. That's a fitting example of what I'm trying to explain. There has been another thread on this site concerned about over moderation. My take is that Terry Ryan's unfortunate diagnosis offers all of us another opportunity to learn, grow, be vigilant against cancer, and give each other a break. The game of baseball has brought us into Terry Ryan's world. Now he may be giving us an opportunity to learn about the game of life. Prayers, Terry. We wish you well.

FWIW--I think means "for what it's worth." As a fan, Stringer Bell identified two primary reasons to root for JO Berrios, IMHO. I've mastered that acronym, in my budding knowledge of "text speak." Regarding prospects, it's hard to "love" or "hate" a kid who is still a prospect. It's hard for a fan who casts theories from 30,000 feet above the strike zone to render a whole lot of emotional attachment anywhere on this site. But this is why I like the kid: 1. He is only 6'0", perhaps more or less, depending on what shoes he happens to be wearing when my boy asks for his autograph from over the third base wall. My boy is the smallest kid in his class, so he naturally cheers louder for the Dustin Pedroia types. Like Stringer's handshake with JO, I had the opportunity to meet Rich Harden before he signed with the Twins, and tried that ill-fated comeback last season. Nice try. I wish it would have worked out. My encounter with Harden was over a baptismal font--eye-to-eye. I'm 5'11'' in wing-tips, FWIW. From a human interest story, it was fascinating to discover that this RHP of average height is just one of 48 pitchers to strike out the side with only nine pitches, when Oakland faced the Los Angeles Angels at the Coliseum on June 8, 2008. In the top of the first inning, Harden fanned Macier Izturis, Howie Kendrick and Garret Anderson. Oakland beat Los Angeles, 7-3. Harden pitched 6 innings, striking out 9. He did not get the win. Still, pretty good for a short guy... 2. I love the video that Parker posted above, capturing the family/community celebration that erupted when the Twins drafted JO. "Arms in a 'V', high-fives, hugs, and tears." Beauty, IMHO. That's why I am a fan. That's why I will be cheering for this pleasant young man with a firm RH handshake. That is all.

For me, the 1987 "Welcome Home" Rally, when the Twins returned from defeating Detroit was an iconic moment--largely because of how it influenced the players. Here's an excerpt from Doug Grow's work "We're Gonna Win Twins." I love this exchange between Hrbek and a security guard: "It was almost 10 o'clock on a Monday night and yet there was activity everywhere. There were people on the overpasses waving banners. And the closer the buses got to the Dome, the more people there were. The buses made it to the loading dock area behind the Dome. There were people, yelling and waving. "Why aren't they inside?" Twins first baseman Kent Hrbek asked a security man on the bus. "There's no room inside, Herbie," the security man said." http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2010/04/celebrate-good-times-welcome-home-rally-was-unforgettable-moment-87-twins-te

It would be nice to see May put in quality time at Rochester. Maybe a full season at AAA, with a September call-up. Then he can inherit Correia's place in the 2015 starting rotation.

Touche'. In the immortal words of Baron Von Raschke, "Dat is all dat da people need to know!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrxXvG9SMK4 (at 1:12)

Here's a link to Christensen's Gulf Coast League numbers: http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=621478 .671 OPS in 162 at-bats. Good research, Seth. A good reporter knows what questions to ask before the interview begins. Thanks for researching Christiansen's previous draft history, Darin Erstad, and the Cedar Rapids connection. You do this well. It's a pleasure to read your stuff. By the way, have you been tallying the "favorite baseball movie" responses? Sandlot must be way ahead! I'm hoping that the hometown boy makes good in 2014. Here's some more on Christiansen's 2013 season from the Husker's website: "Chad Christensen capped his Husker career on a high note in 2013, as he was picked in the 25th round of the MLB Draft and was a first-team All-Big Ten performer in the outfield after being named a first-team all-conference infielder in 2012 • Led the Huskers in seven offensive catagories, including batting average (.364), slugging percentage (.453), on-base percentage (.436), runs (45), triples (3), stolen bases (8) and sac flies (6), while ranking second in hits (82), RBI's (39), home runs (2) and total bases (102) • Produced a team-high 26 multi-hit games on the year, including six three-hit games and one four-hit game • Also led the team with 11 multi-RBI games • During Big Ten play, led all players in the conference with a .431 batting average, 44 hits and 26 runs • Was the highest average during league play since Purdue's Brandon Haveman hit .464 in 2009." You can read more at: http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=204888241