cmathewson

I know, and perhaps every team has a Vielma. I don't know. The last one we developed from within was Zoillo. Smalley, Gagne, Guzman, Bartlett and Florimon were all acquired. In the history of the Twins, we've developed more Mearses than Florimons.

I disagree with your first statement. Gloves like his are special. I do agree that his bat is not up to snuff. The Twins might have one guy who has a chance to be that good (Vielma).

I don't have strong feelings about this move, but I lean towards being positive. I never expected so much in return for Butera. I was very disappointed to hear about Sulbaran's condition this spring. I had him at 14 in the offseason. But if he can't make the Cedar Rapids rotation, it' best to get what we can for him while his value is high. I'm not high on Nunez, but he is versatile and could be an injury replacement at some point this year.

The problem with Sulbaran is not amorphous. He came to camp out of shape and has not done enough to regain a starting job at low A, a level he is repeating after starting all year there last year, and putting up better numbers than Berrios at the same age. It is entirely possible Nunez is AAA filler. They waited until he cleared waivers so he didn't have to be added to the 40 man.

Looking at his defensive numbers gets pretty depressing. The only position where he has had a positive UZR overall thought three seasons is LF. The more important the defensive position, the more in the red he goes. His hitting is not good enough to make up for his awful defense.

This is about making room for Gonsalves. They probably started shopping Sulbarran when he came to camp out of shape. Nunez brings depth, and little else. Does he have options?

No. I just saw the replays of his plays in the field. The slide makes sense because Gomes was in the way.

Hicks has taken three walks and hit six balls hard the last two games. Nothing to show for the loud outs except a sac fly.

Both have had good medical reports today. But if needed, I'd say Mastro is the first one up.

I don't know how he changed direction on that ball off the wall without spraining an ankle. Say what you want about misjudging it and getting too close to that wall, but he certainly hustled on that play.

With Diamond and Parmelee, the writing was on the wall that they would clear. Presley got claimed by the very first team that could claim him. If they thought he would pass through, it was a grave miscalculation.

One thing I failed to mention: How many teams have in their master plans contingencies for both starting corner outfielders getting hurt at the same time? I don't know how likely or unlikely it is, but the way rosters are constructed, very few teams have the ability to absorb two such injuries simultaneously without losing considerable pop.

I thought they were going to get one of these waiver-wire outfielders after they DFAd Presley. Still surprised they didn't. I don't think a Presley DFA was part of a grand plan. I think Antony let Gardy talk him into it because Presley had such a Gaud-awful spring (not that Bartlett didn't, but Gardy is all about favorites). I'll say this. They miss Ryan. Ryan would never let Gardy talk him into thinning the outfield ranks for a guy on an improbable comeback. We wouldn't be having this discussion if Presley was still here. BTW, he homered yesterday for the Strohs.

I was just going to post this. Bartlett got an "ankle sprain" just in time to bring Hermann in while giving the team a couple of more days for Hammer's and Arcia's injuries to provide more clarity. They have two spots open for additions if necessary. Mastro and Parmelee are tops on the list. But Ramirez is a possibility.

I am on record as saying I thought the Presley move was a mistake, or an odd move, to use Mike's term. I would have preferred to tell Bartlett that he had to earn his way up than just give him a job out of spring training. If he walks, oh well. And I hope they end the experiment sooner rather than later, unless he improves miraculously. I just want to avoid sweeping conclusions from injury replacements. Hermann wasn't part of some grand plan. He was just the best available guy for the bench at this time, all things considered. Yeah every move is related in some way to every other move. But many of them are not planned. You have likely outcomes and contingencies. The complexity of possibilities turns to chaos in a month or so, given all the options. This qualifies as a contingency. To make it seem like it's part of a three-year plan is giving it way too much credit. And I don't think you are quite fair to Arcia by calling him a poor defender. Maybe he was last year, but it is a bit early in his career to stick that label on him. He was a 21-year-old rookie who had hardly any time adjusting to second decks prior to being thrown into the outfield in the majors. He has show noticeable improvement in just one offseason. I have every reason to believe he will be an above average defender in his career. He certainly has the tools to do it. Willingham is a different story, but just one offseason ago everyone here was lauding that move as a "steal". When he hits, his defense is not nearly as important as it seemed last year, when he wasn't hitting. Which, by the way, was almost entirely related to an injury.

This is my main issue with Gardy. He really does a lot of crazy things that don't show a lot of respect for playing the game the right way. Putting Punto in as a starter over and over at three different positions was the most blatant expression of this, to me. Punto showed no respect for playing the game "the right way" and Gardy never even tried to correct him, with the possible exception of sliding into first. This Bartlett-in-the-outfield stuff is just another chapter of Gardy playing guys out of position, which shows a lack of respect for the game. It reminds me of the brief Punto in center field experiment. He had no idea how to read a slicing or hooking liner, which is an art that is learned through repetition. It is not a God-given tool. Just because a guy has good wheels and plays shortstop decently doesn't mean he can use any glove well.

So one temporary injury-related move is part of a larger system of odd moves? I think you need to read your signature line and take a deep breath.

How does one temporary injury-related promotion prove that the whole team sucks? Talk about jumping to conclusions. Sheesh!

Let's not get ahead of ourselves on his versatility. He's a decent corner outfielder who can catch, in a pinch. He cannot play infield. And he has no business in center. His hitting is fair to middling. All that said, I think he's a better option than Bartlett in the outfield and at the plate. But they actually complement one another, because Bartlett is still a pretty good infielder. And of course there's the whole lefty/righty thing. Still, the thought of both these guys on the bench makes me shudder. Neither will put fear in an opposing pitcher. Neither has enough speed to steal a base, though first to third and second to home are above average. Neither is a plus defender at any position. And we still don't have guy who can sub in center. I wonder what might have happened yesterday with Presley in left.

Wrists are the toughest things to diagnose. There are so many little bones and tendons and ligaments, it's tough to see anything conclusive in imaging. My hunch is, Arcia has a sprain. That should warrant a 15 day DL stint. Were it not for the Hammer contusion, they would have waited for the swelling to go down. But they can't be short two outfielders when the backup has played all of three major league innings in the outfield and he looked like Smalls prior to his first catch.

I saw some plays like that. The one play he made in center started out like that, but he made a nice recovery, diving at the end. I don't think you can just learn to play outfield at age 34 without ever having played it, especially after being away from the game for 18 months. From what I saw in Spring, Bartlett maybe belongs as a reserve infielder. But he has no business in the outfield as a big leaguer.

Colabello hasn't played much OF in his career. That would give us the best offense. I just don't know how the defense would do.

He is not going to hurt you out there, but he is not "terrific" either. I liked what I saw at the plate in ST. So he has a chance to add some offense. Also, when both Arcia and Willingham's are healthy, I hope he stays ahead of Bartlett. Gardy says Bart can play anywhere. But I saw him in the OF in spring and today and it wasn't pretty.

I agree the main reason they stick with Florimon is his defense. Escobar is abetter hitter, but he doesn't have the range of Florimon. But I disagree on your assessment of the defense. I'd say it is an accurate description of the team last year. But I saw improvement this spring. I'd say Plouffe is close to average. Arcia has shown a lot of improvement. Both he and Hicks struggled last year with fuller second decks in the majors. They're both getting used to it. He has a chance to be average. Even Willignham looks like he's moving around a lot better out there than he did last year. It's hard to overestimate the impact of his injury on his range. He'll never be average, but he'll be better than he was last year. I also think they'll be improved behind the plate, if only because they will no longer have the worst defensive catcher in baseball back there. I continue to have concerns about Mauer's defense. It's not as good as Morneau's. He looked great in his previous stints at the position. But this year, he's booted and bobbled a lot more balls than I expected. For my money, Colabello is the better first baseman. I expect Mauer to improve to being just average. He's not there yet.

Pinto will soon earn his way into the lineup more often. It is up to him. For now, the guys taking his at bats (Suzuki, Colabello, Kubel) either at catcher or DH are doing fine. When Gardy uses Suzuki several days in a row and he goes 0 for those games, I will have cause to complain.