Old Twins Cap

I've watched Hughes pitch a lot over the last years on MLB. When he plays the good teams on the East Coast, he's tough for a couple of innings but they really know how to make him work. His fast ball is ok, but it's straight and teams like the Red Sox and Orioles and Tampa Bay, they foul off his fast ball time after time until they get something to handle. I like the look of his curve this spring, and that will help, but I'm not sure how you get around a fat fastball that teams are sitting on.

Worst starting pitcher on the worst starting staff in baseball. Are we really concerned that another team will pick him up? I agree with Shane, this is just plain WEIRD that he is so bad, but weirder things have happened. Time to move on.

You don't think the forecast of rain in Sarasota had anything to do with Correia pitching the MiLB game?

Some of you guys think that sending a player to AAA is like putting a plant in an organic garden with good sunshine and adequate water, and that, in that environment, the plant comes back strong, healthy and ready to produce. I think you need to spend some time in AAA yourselves and admire the wonderful environment in Rochester or wherever. Sure, you can puff up an OPS down there by feasting on some bad pitching, but it's not the same thing as becoming a quality MLB player. Sometimes, with some guys, you need to learn on the job. And the job is hitting MLB pitching. The wrenching decisions of going back and forth to AAA and the Majors, that has an impact on a kid's understanding of his talent. When it comes to Hicks, I stand by this: He's a good kid with good pedigree, he has a MLB body, arm and speed. He has all the skills to be a very good professional. It ain't doing anyone any good to send him to Rochester and wait for the snow to melt. Let the kid play, let him rob some HRs, let him run the bases, let him hit free and easy down in the lineup. We will see what he's got. If he can't produce, we got Buxton.

Why would someone assume that sending down Hicks to AAA would be good for him? His dad was a pro baseball player. Hicks has a professional center fielder's body, big league power and a hell of an arm. In my world, sending him down would be opening wounds and leaving him questioning himself and his ability. This is one time you leave the kid in MLB and let him learn to play at that level.

Why would someone assume that sending down Hicks to AAA would be good for him? His dad was a pro baseball player. Hicks has a professional center fielder's body, big league power and a hell of an arm. In my world, sending him down would be opening wounds and leaving him questioning himself and his ability. This is one time you leave the kid in MLB and let him learn to play at that level.

Slowey throws his fastball by Mauer on a 2-0 count -- the Twins' best player.

Give up on Kubel, nostalgia for the past does not do anything for a MLB roster. Worley and Diamond, who would even want either of them? We have got a ton of Diamond-like lefties sitting around the minors. What's the concern about letting him go? But, pitching will not be the biggest problem for the Twins this year. It's the offense. They will have trouble scoring runs and are caught between not being a running team and not being a power team. They must keep Colabello, hope Willingham hits and then get some of the little guys to have good years by getting on base. Like last year, if either Parmelee or Plouffe ever came around and realized his potential, they would be a decent squad. As it stands, they will battle for last place in the Central yet again.

It used to be Ryan's favorite line, then echoed by Gardy: "We'll go as far as our pitching carries us." And last year, the pitching was very bad, with starters the worst in professional baseball. That's quite a thing: THE WORST in MLB. This year, the problem is going to be on offense. What were we last year in terms of runs scored, 29th of 30? I think we will have a real problem scoring runs. The issue is: are we a power team or a speed team? For Gardy, he doesn't like to take outs on the basepaths and so, he doesn't run. But, he has no power. And thus, the problem: stuck between a power paradigm and a speed paradigm, we end up doing neither, and leading the league in not scoring runs. Doesn't matter how much pitching the Twins have. You need to score runs to win, especially against good pitchers. I don't see it this year. Between a lack of chemistry, a reluctance to run and an inability to hit for power, the Twins are, once again, headed for the basement of the AL.

Have you watched them play? Have you read Reusse's last column? Tell me, what are you seeing in Florida right now, wearing a Twins uniform, that you are excited about? I want to be excited. I'm listening.

It's official. Twins not very good again this year. How are they going to score runs? And, I know it's old, and a crappy situation for us baseball fans, but Gardenhire is not the guy to breathe life into that clubhouse.

John: Was Worley getting any swings and misses?

Is it really worth putting Doumit in RF and endure certain poor fielding just in case he is at DH when the starter is injured? Whoa, is it just me, or was this written last Spring Training?

You know it's going to be another mediocre season when Blog commenters are rehashing Twins' management decisions on a 20 year-old kid who put in a decent half-season of AA ball. Long way home people.

And why do you think the US media is ignoring Venezuela? You can bet that there are powerful interests at play, and that the US is on the wrong side of the people of Venezuela. That's pretty much guaranteed, and I have not even been paying attention. That's the way it always goes in Latin America: We side with the corporations and the big money oligarchs. Heck, we are are the big money oligarchs.

All the complaining about Correia and Pelfrey will dissipate if one of them comes in and mows down lineups. In any case, as assets, veteran pitchers are highly tradeable commodities, especially if they are still throwing well in July. I like what the Twins have done, and if they have a surplus, that's a great problem to have. Likely though, one or two of the veterans will either suck or get injured and then it will be time to try the kids. Never have enough pitching, especially quality, veteran starters. So open the stable doors and let's see who can bring it in '14.

I'd like to finish my career with the Twins as well. But.... Willingham is best suited for a band-box stadium, like US Cellular, or Texas, places where routine outs are round-trippers and defense just doesn't matter as much.

Thanks for you thoughts, and your service to the country you love. I appreciate it. And, I would certainly defend your right to free speech, as well as your right to raise the flag -- even with my life if I must. The fact that you can't say the same thing to non-military citizens is all the evidence I need to make my point. The flag belongs to all Americans, and when one group is seen to have an exclusive right to it, for whatever reason, it diminishes our democracy.

Allow other American citizens who have served their country to raise the flag for the National Anthem -- other, meaning people who are not combat veterans but nonetheless serve their country-- like teachers, volunteers, police officers, firemen, and good Samaritans. The idea that the only people worthy of raising the flag are those who have served overseas, and been involved in combat and killing, fetishizes war and violence. We have a lot of good people in this country. People who sacrifice, serve and believe that their efforts can make a better world. Like teachers, who work every day with kids and help them believe in themselves and engage with important issues. How about an occasional teacher raising the flag? They are baseball fans too. Or anyone. The flag-raising ceremony has become a cliche, mechanical moment which is supposed to somehow prove our patriotism, by clapping for and honoring a Veteran for about a minute. Don't get me wrong, my dad served in WWII, I think we all respect and should recognize military service. Giving your life for your country, that's a noble sacrifice. And people do something analogous to that every day, mostly in unrecognized ways, many for decades and decades, serving America, helping those less fortunate and protecting the sick and vulnerable. My main beef is actually that by only having Veterans raise the flag, we teach kids that war and killing are heroic things. Actually, they are not. War is a failure. It's a failure when human beings who have evolved over millenia, surviving everything the natural world has thrown at them -- climate, predators, disease, misfortune -- we made it through hundreds of thousands of years, only to kill each other because of ignorance and poor political leadership. That's a tragedy, and the sooner we acknowledge war is a failure, the better. But the Twins aren't helping, and the lack of diversity in who raises the flag diminishes all of us, and perpetuates an appalling notion that war and killing is somehow the best thing human beings have ever done and something we should all aspire to. Sad.

Success for me is being able to watch a game and hope, and be surprised, that the Twins are actually not a doormat: that they make plays, that guys surprise, that you can see potential in young players and start to visualize what the future holds: Possibility. That's how it was in '64, in '84, and in '90. Even in '92 they were a hell of a good team to watch and root for. The last years, not so much. In fact, this has been a depressing run, without redemption on any level. A fan watches because she wants to see something unexpected, and uniquely hopeful, about the team she idolizes. Watching for the sake of watching makes it just a waste of time. So give me something unexpected, something without a ceiling, something that makes me want to come back and see more. Statistics, numbers, positions, ERA's, that's not what motivates my fandom. It's the actual athleticism and moment by moment effort to realize three outs, or three runs, that builds the case for excitement, and success, in a team.

If Tanaka is not posted, and there were real questions about that all through December, if he isn't posted, the market would have an extra $150M sloshing around looking for hurlers. Ryan didn't know, nor could he know if Tanaka would be posted. He just knew the risks of waiting to find out. In the long run, needing three arms and having the dough available to spend, he did the prudent and wise thing: lock up the guys you can live with early on.

Thanks for putting this together. Definitely adds some depth and context to what happened last year and how these guys operate.

I hope season ticket sales continue to fail. Their product is terrible. I mean, c'mon, look at who they send out to the mound as a starting rotation. I'm a lifelong fan, but they've lost all credibility as a professional baseball club. Someone needs to hold them accountable for their product. I used to own season tickets but I won't go back. The thing that really gets me is that their organization blithely rehires Gardenhire after three 90 loss seasons. They don't play with passion, they aren't prepared to start games, and they don't have a plan to beat teams. They are feckless, disinterested and frankly, boring. But for management, that's good enough. Bring back Gardy. Well, let's see what the number is that gets us a new manager. Wake up and smell the coffee boys, the ship has been sinking for years.

Guys, Drew ain't happening. You are reading WAY too much into Gardenhire's quote. At most, the Twins are offering on an international player, a fringy Asian pitcher, a Cuban national or a rehabbing Santana. There's nothing out there that's going to provide crucial help to this team next year. They are looking at opportunities, sure, but not in the way that is being represented in this thread, IMHO. Fun to talk about when it's late January like this, and COLD, but, ultimately, the Hot Stove is not going to yield much more to bank hopes on. The Twins will be better this year, and depending on young guys like Hicks, Parmelee, Plouffe, Dozier, Florimon, Pinto, and yes, Sano, they may even be fun to watch. But that does not equate to spending big bucks on Drew or Santana and losing a draft pick. Nor should it.

Sometimes these bigger guys just take longer to get their bodies working in synch. In basketball, we used to say the big guys would not get full coordination until their late twenties. Twins fans just have to hope that a guy like May, and even Meyer, develop more consistency and repeatability in their delivery and with their pitches. But, the one thing you cannot ever underrate or discount: how competitive is he? When there's runners on base and nobody out, does he hitch at his belt, grit his teeth and go for a K or does he start to think, "Oh, oh, not again, well, if it doesn't work out, I can always pitch in relief somewhere". It's old fashioned, but the will to win is what makes an athlete special. You either got that or you don't. And no pitching coach anywhere will ever be able to teach that.