Don't Feed the Greed Guy

I'd like to see what Granite can do in Rochester, first. He has no AAA cred, yet. Also, he can play every day there, and not sit on the bench. Per the article, he's still my #1 choice if Buxton should go down. BTW: Nice kid. Got a chance to visit with him briefly upstairs at the Meltdown.

Great event! I enjoyed visiting with Phil Miller--very approachable guy. Also Stephen Gonsalves and Zach Granite (upstairs with other prospects). We discussed having a Draft Party at the Twins Daily table at the Diamond Awards. The draft is set for Monday, June 12. What a great opportunity for draft nerds to gather at a local Twin Cites bar to hear the Twins first pick, and then enjoy some baseball chatter over beers as the clock moves toward picks #35 (competitive balance pick) and #37 (first pick of the 2nd round). Last year, teams were given four minutes between first-round picks, and one minute during the competitive balance phase (#31 through #36). That means two hours, at the most, between pick #1 and picks #35 & 37. The time of the 2017 draft hasn't been released, but last year the MLB Network began broadcasting at 6 p.m.ET, with the first pick on the clock at 7:01 p.m.ET. Mock Draft prizes for most correct picks, and least correct..? Could be fun! I'd drive down from Walker for sure! Only criticism of the event--minor criticism--was the lack of tables--eating space. I think if there was seating in front of the stage, some of the folks who ate early might have been willing to move closer to the stage, and give up table or bar space to those who were waiting for a place to eat. The bar might also see this as a way to increase their income.

We would like to join you folks at the Diamond Awards, if room is still available. My wife is a physical therapist who worked with last year's featured individual, Patrick Tyk who underwent the surgical procedure called deep brain stimulation to help treat his Parkinson’s symptoms. Nice when a date night combines our "Twin" passions for baseball and community service.

Wow! Tickets went fast... Bummer.

"An article from Mike Berardino in the Pioneer Press earlier this week quoted a source as saying that a final decision would be coming soon "out of respect" for the veteran infielder." I, as a fan, would like this settled by Twins Fest, where our family has had great interactions with Dozier. Makes sense that fans, labor, and management want the halls of Target Center to be "friendly confines" by the end of January.

Bummer. Just got the "let's go!" from my wife, and the tickets have melted down. If anyone has a change-in-plans, message me, and I'll make arrangements to come get your tickets.

Great article. I use ticket stubs for bookmarks, and prefer to have tickets mailed to me, or picked up at Will Call whenever that's an option. Every ticket is a memory.

Our family watched the Tin Caps-Kernels tilt last night in Fort Wayne. We're on our way out to Boston and Fenway, and Pawtucket-AAA to see our Twins and Red Wings play. Parkview Field rivals the finest Spring Training parks with a top notch field and facilities. Consider dropping in if you ever take an East Coast road trip. As for the game,four errors and miscues made the score much closer than it should have been. Kevin Garcia-who was nice enough to toss my son a ball-tried reaching third on Rainis Siva's single with nobody out in the second inning. He was thrown out by fifteen feet. Nine other runners were stranded on base over the first four innings, adding to the frustration, and the simultaneous sense that our luck was bound to change. Sam Gibbons' return to the rotation was also not as bad as the box scores dictates. One or two pitches would have been the difference. Haunting walks, bone head errors, and pitches left over the plate could easily have been replaced with balls-in-play, double plays, and timely strikeouts. Eventually our fortunes changed. The bats stayed hot, and baserunners who couldn't get past third base during the early innings began to be waved home. One last suggestion: try "Shigs in Pit" BBQ. The best BBQ I've enjoyed since dining at Gates BBQ in Kansas City, remembered from the days when we used to head south for outdoor baseball, and to escape our Teflon-covered exile in the Homerdome.

Post-trade deadline, Polanco should be at second and Sano at third, with Kepler in right. Plouffe and Dozier work only in a "win now" format so trade 'em. I still see 2018 as the breaking point toward winning ways. 2018 is also Joe Mauer's last season under his present contract. Park at 1b through 2020.

I will remember 2010 as a great time to drive down to Kansas City and watch the Twins feast on a Royal banquet of top prospects coming out of the KC pipeline. Outdoor baseball, and records like 12-6 (2008) 12-6 (2009) and 13-5 (2010) against our AL Central rivals made for a strong Minnesota section at Kauffman Stadium , drowning out the locals with chants of "MVP" when Joe Mauer came to bat. Billy "Country Breakfast" Butler was on the menu, as well as high-draft prospects like Luke Hochevar and Mike Moustakas. Alex Gordon was maturing, but still young and raw. In 2011, Eric Hosmer was 21 years old, and Salvador Perez played in 39 games as a twenty-one-year-old catcher. All that began to change as the Twin's dominance declined to a respectable 10-8 (2011), then 11-7 (2012). The big switch came in 2013, when Kauffman Stadium became a home field for powder blue again. Minnesota went 4-15 against Kansas City. The shift in dominance turned northward as droves of fans from Missouri and Kansas came north on I-35 to Target Field. Kauffman entertained back-to-back World Series games. Target field entertained empty seats. All I'm saying is that this trend from Prospect to Respect will take time. Who can tell where Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano, and Byron Buxton will be playing when they enter their early thirties, like Gordon and Hochevar? "Country Breakfast" just turned thirty too. The Royals let him go to Oakland as a free agent after the 2014 season. Good move. This much is for sure: Prospects will be moving rapidly through the Minnesota pipeline as the losing continues. Kansas City endured nine losing seasons in a row before turning things around in 2013. Minnesota may be halfway through its losing stretch, with last year's modest winning record being a small reprieve. I began to think that 2018 might be the season when the tide would turn. It might take longer. What do you think, Seth, others?

Seth, I asked you a week or two ago about your prediction that TJ White would be most likely to be promoted out of Ft. Myers. WOW, what a prediction. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. My two boys, ages 10 and 12, met White last year down in Cedar Rapids. TJ gave my boys a cracked, game-used bat without more than a request for an autograph. "Boys, I've got something for you..." He ran to the dugout, and came back with the bat. Here's one dad that hopes TJ White's opportunities, and place on the MILB leaderboard, continue to rise.

E.E. squared. I like your equation for a Twins breakout shortstop.

Another interesting question regarding White. He and Kris Bryant are both Las Vegas products, born twenty days apart in January of 1992. I wonder what stories White has of playing with/against Bryant?

I watched TJ White in Cedar Rapids last August. He impressed. He's nowhere on anyone's "Top Prospect" list, yet you have him pegged as the most likely hitter to be promoted to the Twins. Please tell more.

"The AL Central often turns into a war of attrition and when ammo starts running low, I like the Twins midseason reinforcements to be the difference." Good take. I'll drink that elixir from here to 2018.

I'll trade a reduction in triples and outfield assists, for a higher OBP and more stolen bases.

Two things regarding a higher expectation for Eduardo Escobar (EE) this season: 1) I'm a little "old school" in thinking that MLB hitters don't peak until reaching that 2,000 PA/AB plateau. If that's the case, EE's star could keep rising as he's only at the 1243/1145 PA/AB level for his MLB career. 2) I also think that EE will be hitting in a better, more seasoned lineup this year. He's simply going to see better pitches, IMHO.

Shhh! If Kohl Stewart is reading this, he might try a Chris Weinke on all of us. You may remember that Weinke, a Cretin Derham-Hall grad, spent six seasons in the Blue Jays minor-league system, before he enrolled at Florida State. Weinke went on to be a Heisman trophy quarterback at age 28. If Stewart's future as a pitcher begins to dim, Aggie Agony may become Twin Turmoil. A list of the pitchers that the Twins have taken out of high school in the first round reads like a chapter out of "Moneyball" 1987 Willie Banks 1990 Todd Ritchie 1992 Dan Serafini 2004 Steven "Kyle" Waldrop 2004 Jay Rainville 2011 Hudson Boyd 2012 Jose Berrios (Puerto Rico--an outlier? We can hope!) 2013 Stewart.

I'm holding out hope that Miguel Sano will channel his inner "Cobra" and we'll see a fair representation of Dave Parker in rightfield this season. Another big guy with a cannon arm. Sano will need to drop 20-25 lbs to get down to Parker's playing weight, but if this OF-experiment can work, why not dream big? Add a little Joe "Pops" Mauer, and Brian "Scrap Iron" Dozier to the mix, and we might be singing "We are Family" in October.

That will be fun to watch. Eduardo Escobar provides the Twins with a year or two of time before either Vielma or Nick Gordon push their way into a major league lineup. Either one or both of them could be elite shortstops as they progress beyond A ball.

Nothing will happen until the Byung Ho Park negotiations reach an outcome. Trevor Plouffe is not on the trading block until that domino falls. For all we know, Ryan may have an offer for Plouffe, contingent upon Park's signing with the Twins. The first thing we will know is whether or not Park is coming to Minnesota. Second things? As for the Sano-to-the-outfield charade, that's buying time for the Park outcome. I don't believe that Terry Ryan would move his team MVP to an untried, untested position during Spring Training. If Plouffe stays, make him the fourth outfielder, and back up Sano at third base. Plouffe is the one with MLB outfield experience. Between OF and 3b, he'd play every day, and provide depth at the hot corner.

#1 Ervin Santana serves 80 game suspension for using the performance enhancing drug, Stanozolol. As a result, Santana misses 15-17 turns in the rotation. If Santana starts those games, Minnesota's chances of winning three or four more games vastly improves, and fans get to watch at least one postseason game.

"Maybe you don’t believe in any knowledge other than scientifically proven knowledge. The bad news is that makes it hard to meet girls. The good news is that there is still some evidence that Morneau wouldn’t be a terrible fit for the Twins." LOVE This. I say bring back the M & M Bromance! That would mean breaking up the Plouffe-Dozier Bromance, however...

Late August is when many fans turn their attention to football--leave it to our Cedar Rapids Kernels to put up a gridiron score on the Peoria Chiefs Monday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium--or is it Perfect Game Field? Naming rights... sigh. The hospitality and highlights were spectacular as players, ticket agents, and vendors made our first family visit to Vets Stadium a delight. Our boys were invited out to second base for the National Anthem, where they stood between Sean Miller and Nick Gordon. The family got outfitted with their Kernels wear, and we settled behind the home dugout to enjoy this slug-fest. Cody already highlighted TJ White's offensive contribution, which included scorching line-outs to left and center fields in the 6th and 8th innings, respectively. Sean Miller lifted his batting average from .281 to .333. White and Max Murphy were both one leg shy of a cycle over the last three innings as they faced three position players who traded their first base gloves and catchers equipment for a spot on the mound. According to the Kernels website: "Alex DeLeon (1b) allowed four runs over 1 1/3 innings. Luis Cruz (C & DH) gave up three runs in one inning. Jake Gronsky (who has played SS, 2b, 3b, Lf, and 18 games at 1b) did not allow a run while recording two outs." Austin Diemer should not be overlooked in the hit parade, as he reached base six times in all six of his plate appearances. Keaton Steele managed to stay relatively sharp as his teammates ran laps around the infield. He walked one and manged this only other three-ball count after a marathon top of the 4th, when he watched sixteen Kernels take turns on the Peoria pitching staff. Nick Gordon fielded his position well, scooping a nifty short hop at his shoe-tops while charging a weak grounder in the fourth, starting a double play in the fifth, and executing a pair of routine plays in the sixth and seventh innings. He scored four runs on two singles, a double, and a walk. Again, players showed their patience after the game. Many signed a ball that catcher Brian Navaretto tossed our son as he returned to the dugout, moments after Steele struck out the side in the top of the second inning.