E. Andrew

Getting in front of the ball is one of the most textbook skills in the game, I don't think that's demanding too much. Not doing it is where most errors come from, and I think you make a good point - - It suggests not being engaged. You could also read it as not being challenged, but that's something that can't really be changed.

Good story. It took just the first ground ball to him for me to have a huge amount of respect for his defense, and to know it will quickly be forgotten. Like Mike Redmond, I enjoyed having him on the team.

Here's a list from Baseball Prospectus. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/league-info/potential-free-agents-for-2014/ I guess at first glance, I could see Paul Maholm or Phil Hughes, who could use a place like Target Field. That said, nothing to get excited about, IMO.

When are these announced?

Nice article, very true.

You have lived up to your name, sir. Interesting options. I can't imagine Bernier would be a huge loss... And I'm guessing the Twins are now in love with Clete Thomas, for better of for worse. I bet we see him in 30+ games next year.

I heard Breslow on the radio once (maybe MPR?) talking about his foundation for childhood cancer research. Struck me as an awesome, super level-headed guy. I looked up his personal statement at the foundation website: Message from Craig || Strike 3 Foundation I'm happy he spent a little time with the club. Happy bday!

Nice info. I think one possibly overlooked clue on the call-up is that spring game against the Yankees on ESPN, bringing him on to the team for one night. It seemed like an irregular move for the org, and I think it hints at how much they know that the attention is building. That said, I think they've been level-headed in keeping him at pace with Rosario (or the other way around). It was 'preferential' enough (I thought) to feature him on ESPN. I would hope they'd give Rosario nearly the same treatment they give Sano.

And without better talent, it'd be nice to see a couple more timely attempts to make something out of nothing. I know there are more than a few here that have a firm grasp of the base-out situations, and know that a bad bunter is a dumb man to have bunt. But in the right situation with a decent bunter, you can keep the defense/pitcher on their toes. I happened to watch last night's ninth inning on MLB network (they went to the game for Dozier's attempt at the cycle). Harold Reynolds was hammering on the fact that you should bunt at a guy like Greg Holland who falls WAY off toward first base... With guys that struggle against righties, try bunting at a guy like that. Florimon's at 44% (bunt-hit %) against RHPs, which is about what Gomez had in his first year here. That move never bothered me. Haha anyway, our problems are way bigger than that, but the little stuff could nudge things in the right direction.

Haha I was just going to say 'I blame the roster move'...

Florimon is very acceptable, and you can see that Gardy, often deservedly, loves him. What's lost sometimes is his ability to do things like make contact on the hit and run, not try throws, fake out runners... etc. Gardy beams in those moments. That said, it would be great to see Dozier get some time at SS. It would confuse fans, if not tick them off, but it's necessary. I think it's much more probable that Rosario makes it than Santana, as much as I like both. So they have to try moving him back. Either way, he'll have one job in the off-season... Anyone know about Dozier's eligibility for Arizona Fall League? Could be an option...

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2195-Mauer-and-the-Monster

There was a few days during spring training when Danny Santana was the hot topic. Granted, most of the big names had or were about to leave for the WBC, but at the time I remember hearing reports that he was the most athletic shortstop in the org. I thought I remember more articles, but here's the only I could find from spring: Danny Santana is 'a legitimate shortstop candidate for the future' - Minnesota Twins news | 1500 ESPN Twin Cities ? Minnesota Sports News & Opinion (Twins, Vikings, Wolves, Wild, Gophers) | Sportswire: Minnesota Twins

Made front page on ESPN. Pretty funny, and they shouldn't really feel bad, other teams have done this, but the lie rarely leaks... Minnesota Twins' Double-A affiliate faked viral marriage proposal - ESPN [video=youtube;b8Oi7FUJ3gE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8Oi7FUJ3gE

That is awesome. The 'soliciting an officer' part at the end is pretty funny too.

Yeah, I'd have liked to see him complete it. There's not much to cheer about, and even fans that know the excitement about him probably won't last long, a complete game is cool here and there, especially in a debut. I think Bert was pretty upset off the air - - as soon as the game resumed, he disagreed with Gardenhire, and Dick replied "Please don't hit me."

I think I recall hearing that a qualifying offer would be $14.5 mil or something, way too much, unfortunately. He'd take that in a heartbeat. Someone correct me if the number's off.

It's only the topspin on his fastball that was 'new' and came out consistently on that Seattle start, all of his hard/normal pitches have slow spin. 2013 Averages: Four-Seam: 763 RPM (Technically a..) Cutter: 621 RPM Change-up: 520 RPM Samuel Deduno, Minnesota Twins - PITCHf/x Pitcher Profile - TexasLeaguers.com Sorry I missed the further comments til now, I very much appreciate everyone's interest!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5119[/ATTACH] Hope for the 2013 season has faded, but Joe Mauer's dominance in the batter's box continues. Among many changes to the lineup, batting him second - not third - has been one move that Gardenhire has stuck to. But while it will lead to an increase in plate appearances, the switch, among other factors, has led to a decrease in runs batted in. Several influences contribute, but the basics are obvious: an RBI requires a runner to be on-base. A look at the averages of those batting in front of Mauer reveals some hard evidence. The opportunities to bat second or third in an inning provide the best data. If Mauer bats fourth or later, he has the chance to do damage. If he bats first, an RBI is impossible. He can be driven in, of course, and help the offense, but he won't be able to create others' runs, and he'd face the situation often, regardless of his position in the lineup. In 2013, Mauer has batted .386/.442/.514 (AVG/OBP/SLG) when leading off the inning. He's clearly doing his job there. Of course, Mauer bats second in the inning at the start of most games, and frequently thereafter. This season, he's had few opportunities to advance runners. The Twins' leadoff spot is a Frankenstein's monster of ineffective plate appearances by ten different players, with the majority coming from Dozier, Carroll, Thomas, and Hicks. With a line of .199/.262/.300, this is by far the uggliest monster of all that have batted first in the Gardenhire era. The .562 OPS also makes up the third-weakest batter at any position since 2002, trailing only the 8th and 9th batters from 2011. While no one player has been quite this awful alone, a combination of poor timing and bad luck has led to exceptionally low averages at the top of the order. Batting second in the inning, Mauer comes to the plate with a runner-on just 26% of the time. Batting third in the inning, Joe's chance of driving in runs improves considerably. Mutually inclusive probability demonstrates that the ninth or first batter (or perhaps both) will regularly be on base when Mauer comes up. But at just 46% in 2013, the combination has the lowest rate in the Gardenhire era, thanks to the .268 OBP at the bottom of the lineup. In 2009, the second spot could expect the ninth or first batter to be manning the bases in 59% of his appearances. That third batter's modest .700 OPS drove in an impressive 94 runs, the most at the position since 2002. Mauer batted there just 32 times in 2009; the majority of the RBIs came from the motley crew of Orlando Cabrera, Brendan Harris, and Alexi Casilla. In 2013, the bottom and top of the order are in shambles, and it's hurt Mauer's normally impressive stats. He could expect a bit more personal production if he followed two men in the first inning, but after that, little would change. Simply put, batters owe their RBIs to the players hitting in front of them. The immediate correlation is obvious. Runs come to those who get on base. But how do the on-base abilities at the top and bottom of the order set up the offense in general? Here is a graph of the yearly likelihood that the ninth or first batter was on-base for the second batter, along with a comparison with the overall runs per game. [ATTACH=CONFIG]5120[/ATTACH] Of course, correlation does not grant causation; many factors contribute to overall offense. But again, runners need to be on base for others to drive them in. The exceptionally stagnant performance at the top and bottom of the lineup has hurt the team immensely. Mauer is a great fit for the second spot. In a better offense, his ability to consistently reach first would advance runners and set up the heart of the order perfectly. But as the best bat on the team, his switch has sacrificed RBI potential for more plate appearances, with no one to follow his lead. As we've seen in the past, he could be dangerous hitting third as well, but there's little available to fill the hole he'd leave. Unfortunately, Joe Mauer can't bat after Joe Mauer. If only we had two.

I could see him being tired, but I imagine he'd like to get a good start or two under his belt before he admits it. I wouldn't want to go into the off-season with a debut like this, that's a lot of negative energy to let simmer for 5+ months.

Sort of... but they really just overhauled the staff without cutting loose the two center-pieces. If they fired coaches based on who's to blame, we'd still have our original first base coach.

The ball comes out of his hand a bit later than you'd expect, but it doesn't look terribly crazy otherwise. Does anyone see something else? Edit: Can't get the time stamp to work -- Start at 40 sec, he throws pick-offs til then... [video=youtube;wSNe6P9UL8Y]

If a hitting coach could just walk in and improve everyone in four months, he'd be making business executive-type money. We needed a change from Vavra, so I'm fine with how it's going.