tellis205

Seth are they letting people walk around the minor league complex like always?

We're lucky any of the admin's go down there to begin with. They've got to take time off their jobs and I doubt their making much if anything off this site.

I would go hang out at the minor league complex starting about 9:45 am. Then I'd walk over and watch big league guys who aren't playing tomorrow take batting practice on the field next to the stadium. Then I'd go into the stadium early and walk around the entire stadium soaking up all the sight lines so you'll know whether you want to sit there next time. Maybe a visit to the gift shop before getting some food and beverage before settling into your seat.

Best way to get tickets is by going on twinsbaseball.com on January 9th when they start selling spring training tickets. As far as minor league games, I'm not sure they'll be playing any games during that time. Last year minor league camp officially opened on March 11th and they were playing games 3 days later. I'm not sure when the official date of minor league camp opens this year. Maybe someone else can chime in there. As far as visiting the minor league complex, just drive in and park. You'll have to pay $10 parking on major league game days. Their usually out stretching and throwing around 9:30 am. There is 4 different fields that are only feet apart and there are small bleacher's to sit on if you wish. When they do have minor league games, they practice in the morning, go in and eat, and then come out and play a game in the afternoon. Before the major league games you can show up real early and watch batting practice on the field next to the stadium. The players that don't play that day are usually out there hitting. If you've never been to Hammond Stadium before I would plan on getting there early to walk around and soak up all the sights. It's alot better now that they've expanded the stadium. I would plan on driving over to Sanibel Island while there. They have some public swimming beaches over there along with some sight seeing. I'd drive down to Ft. Myers Beach and soak up all the sights down there also. I would even consider driving over to Jet Blue to see that stadium and take a game in with the Red Sox. Preferably with the Twins that is. You can check the Ft. Myers Chamber of Commerce sight for more places to visit.

I told you this was happening. Can I get some credit now?

Their looking for a good young blocked catcher. The cost will likely be alot. But we have alot of young players to give up.

The Twins are looking for a good young blocked catcher. And be prepared to part with some talent to get him.

He's not going anywhere until after the AA all-star game. After that, the super 2 cutoff date will probably come into play. My personal feeling is he'll open up in center field on the day that play resumes after the mlb all-star game.

He's not going anywhere until after the AA all-star game. After that, the super 2 cutoff date will probably come into play. My personal feeling is he'll open up in center field on the day that play resumes after the mlb all-star game.

I could see this coming when they kept Eddie Rosario very late into Spring Training. In fact, there was a short period of time when I thought they were actually thinking of keeping Eddie until I was told differently. I believe they were trying to send a message to Oswaldo. Bottom line is that he's gotta stay healthy and be more consistent. And does anyone feel good about seeing him in the outfield? He's got a good arm but that's it!

Alot of interesting comments. I'll settle for him staying healthy for an extended period of time. If he does, everything else will fall in line.

Everything depends on whether TR is still around. If he is, Molitor is the next manager. Two years ago, the Twins wanted Molitor on the staff but Gardy didn't want him heading into the last year of his contract. He didn't want to be fired and have Molitor take over mid year. After the season ended, the Twins wanted Gardy to come back for a year. But Gardy didn't want to be a lame duck and instead wanted 2 years. He got it, with the understanding that he'd take Molitor on staff. My guess is that Gardy will get to finish the year out and start out next year. If things continue like they have, Molitor will take over sometime during the season. As with any manager that takes over, he eventually get's to bring in the people that he wants.

It would be nice if Eddie Rosario was even in camp! Seems to me that he'll need significant time to get ready now that he's missed so much. Anybody willing to step up and let us know what's going on?

I've been watching the 1967 final game of the season between the Twins and the Red Sox on Youtube. You know the game that decided the American League Pennant for that year. It was interesting to see Zoilo Versalles was hitting .201 for the year in which he had over 600 at bats. You might remember that Zoilo was the 1965 American League MVP. Strong defensive shortstop and fondly remembered by many of the old timers in Minnesota. Career .242 hitter. Now that team had a few more great hitters and pitchers however there was no DH yet. I've been hearing we've got a few great hitters about to enter the scene here shortly. Maybe you see where I'm going with this. Mr. Florimon is a strong defensive shortstop who who will be adequate at the plate. Teams need to be strong up the middle to succeed. He gives us that chance.

I'm all for him coming back. Nothing would make me happier. I'm assuming that they think he'll be able to get the velo up significantly. Because unless he hikes it up to a regular 87-88 mph, he's not gonna be effective out there. Signing and being willing to go down and proving himself regularly before being called up would help. But he's a thoroughbred and I don't think he's gonna want to do that.

I think the main reason they had him at first base was because of the arm problem he had last year. I'm hearing he'll be going back to the outfield now that his arm problems are behind him. Still, I think they'll have him playing both positions this year with the outfield being primary. He's impressive as a hitter in the context that he's always been playing with older players. My prediction is that he'll be traded within a year or two. We've got several impressive outfielders and he'll be more attractive if he can play an infield position. He's not the only one that will be traded down the line. When you draft high several years in a row you tend to stock alot of players that can get blocked.

Halsey, What's the word on the construction down there? Are they gonna have minor league spring training at Lee County or will they have to move it over to the old Red Sox minor league facility to start?

A month or so before Eddie Rosario was even rumored to be suspended, I heard that there was internal discussions going on whether to move him back to the outfield. This being because of Dozier's turnaround this year. Since then he's been suspended. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Rosario stayed at 2nd base but played a significant amount of games in the OF this year once he returns. The amount of OF's we have is a strength and will be good leverage in future trade talks.

Most of the free agent position player's signed elsewhere for various reasons. That leaves trades as a possible solution. Whenever Ryan calls someone, they always want Sano or Buxton. The one possible chip they had and were willing to part with was Rosario. And we all know what happened there. He won't be a viable prospect again until he proves he's able to stay on the field for an extended period of time. We have players coming up that deserve a chance. I'm told that Hicks was playing at a high level by the time Rochester entered the playoffs. I'm also told that Worley should not be ignored and written off. He has proven himself in the National League in the past and one year where he was recovering from arm surgery to begin with should not erase him from everyone's memory. Nobody talks about Dozier anymore because he turned a corner last year. Nobody gave him a chance of doing that last year at this time. We have other players that are capable of turning the corner. It costs alot of money to develop players and they shouldn't be thrown away until it's obvious they can't cut it. Alot of position players need 1200-1500 at bats before you can make a decision. How many at bats has Florimon gotten? This is going to be another transition year but it will be more promising because good teams start with pitching. If you don't have pitching, it makes everything that much worse.

We used to go in and sit first serve in left field in the Metrodome. If you got in fast enough, you could get all the way down to the first row that wasn't roped off. When you got in there, there was always balls laying in the aisles from the opposite team's batting practice. I caught a few batting practice homeruns while sitting down there. But the only one I caught during a game was during a game against KC. I had already found 1 batting practice ball in the aisle and I had also caught one during batting practice. 2 out of my 3 kids were happy. I gave them to my youngest ones hoping my oldest (10 years old) would be mature enough to handle it. He wasn't. He whined about it during the game. I told him if I caught a HR ball, I'd give it to him and I also told him that if I gave it to him, the fans would be screaming at him to throw it back. He said I'd never catch one so it didn't matter. Well, Joe Randa came to the plate and hit it right to me just above Jacque Jones glove. I took the ball and whipped it into his glove and told him to now be quiet. All the fans were screaming at him to throw it back but he refused and held his ground. Unbeknownst to me, my dad was reading the Star Tribune the next day and saw a picture of me on the front page catching that ball. I went out and bought 5 copies. I'll never forget that for the rest of my life.

Thank you. I've never been to City of Palms. Do you think we can get as close over there as we do at Lee County?

Does anyone know when the Minor League players are required to report for spring training and when the daily exhibition games start?

Hurt's his trade value. He was on the block for pitching help.

I kind of like how you write. Keep it up!

I have been watching and hoping for Benson to do well for 5 years now ever since I saw him the 2nd year after they drafted him. You mentioned one important observation in your post. You don't know if he's concentrating enough or too much. Well, he's been quoted as admitting that he hasn't been focused enough in the past. And then this year he's probably been pressing too much. When I was down there last week, I noticed Benson was starting and didn't run out to stretch or get loose for about 10 minutes until after the other starters were out there down the left field line getting loose. Who knows why, it could have been a good reason. I do know that some of these guys, especially the ones who have much more ability than some of the others, sometimes spend a little too much time in the night life. I remember years ago when Justin Morneau, who hadn't been up for very long, was called into Mr. Gardenhire's office when they were in Seattle for a little talk about his full time committment to the club. Morneau listened and all the sudden began playing at a high level. All of these things are pure speculation. The Twins will not release Benson until he runs out of options, that much is a given. He has too much talent. It's all pretty much up to him how things go from here on out.