10PagesOfClearBlueSky

This type of stuff is what I really love about Twins Daily. The statistical analysis from the guys is great, as is Seth's roster talk and Parker's video breakdowns. What really keeps me interested, though, is the stuff I learn about Twins fans. I love the Twins so much that I just plain love Twins fans. Here's to a surprisingly great season starting with all of our routines on Monday!!!! Win Twins!!!!

That's pretty impressive. Only eight years old and already following the Prospects Lists? When I was eight years old I was just wishing my Starting Lineup action figure looked even a little bit like Kirby Puckett.

Couldn't agree more. Especially the part about beige leather brogues being just as elegant and vital.

I totally understood the gist of your post. I was just being silly, as if I was with you and laughing but then suddenly realized that it was directed toward me... And let's be honest, you took a couple of shots that could easily be interpreted as being in reference to my SPEED argument. But let's also be honest.... Your post was funny. Intentionally, and unintentionally. Intentionally in respect to the punching yourself in the face bit, etc.... Unintentionally? Imagine the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons saying all of what you've said. And think of how seriously he would be taking himself as he says it. "Heh, schooled those newbs..." It's a Baseball Blog and you are talking about etiquette which, if used properly, will spare posters from being "corrected". What is abundantly clear is that you really feel like you've reached a deeper understanding. If you wanted to dig a bit deeper, though, you could reflect on what Socrates thought true wisdom entailed. Elitism was not part of his philosophy. Neither was focusing on what one knows. Realizing what one doesn't know was much more important. I tried to bring up the point that maybe we don't know everything about the effects of SPEED on the game, and if posters were being honest I think they'd admit that they created straw-man arguments out of what I said. Somebody (might have even been you smerf) even felt it was their job to inform me of how difficult it was to read my posts and actually questioned/accused me of forcing complex vocabulary. Quite an assumption, despite any evidence, background, video footage, or stats to support the contention that this isn't just the way that I think, speak, and write. What's really funny to me is that you have a deep understanding of baseball now, but didn't even think quantifying SPEED was possible, and then didn't think the stats proved anything, and then admitted that they did but questioned whether or not they could be used to project future performance. And if they can, you'll have.... reached a deeper understanding, I suppose. I really like this site, and I really like all the different posters. Even Fro.... I think that many of you take yourselves much more seriously than you need to, and that you take for granted that NOW YOU KNOW HOW IT WORKS. Before you didn't, BUT NOW YOU DO. And you'll realize, just like those who used to rely on batting average and RBI as the major quantifiable stats, that you didn't know as much as you thought you did. Conventional wisdom is refined and filtered and changed until it is quite different than it was previously. As far as wanting your innocence back: Your avatar is a smoking smurf. I think your childlike nature is safely established. Just thought that should be noted. I love Seth's positivity. Even just his tone of voice on his podcasts has always struck me as him being a dude who's so confident in his understanding of stats and the roster machinations that he's able to transcend the 'Baseball Nerd" attitude that so many other hardcore observers and writers are guilty of. It seems he still just enjoys the pure, simple aspects of the game. His excitement about each prospect he's hot on always makes me laugh a little bit at his optimism, while at the same time I can't help but get all pumped up and excited as well. I really did get a kick out of the punching yourself in the face business. Nice work.

Hahahaha. Wait, what?

Samuel, is that you?

God, I love the earnestness of this post.

Nice post. I enjoyed the attempt to somewhat quantify the presence of "luck", especially in the context of St. Patrick's Day having just occurred. Just because something like "luck", or "SPEED" (right guys?) isn't easy to quantify, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. St. Patrick's Day and Baseball kind of go together in a strange way. I guess it is probably because Spring Training is in full enough swing to really be on everybody's minds right about this time of year. Does anybody ever buy those St. Patrick's Day themed Twins T-Shirts that I always see in the stores at this time of year? Seems like a lot of money to spend for a T-Shirt that seems likely to only be worn for a couple days out of the year....

Drtwins, You're right. I checked the schedule and it is clear that this April 10 date is incorrect. April 7 will be the first time a fifth starter is "needed". This makes me think it is much more likely the Twins will go with a full five-man rotation right out of the gate, and just give their opening day starter the extra day of rest. I would amend my projected rotation to include Deduno, and to make room I would subtract Roenicke from the bullpen.

Rosterman, You make some good points. Yes, of course 40 man roster considerations would have to be made. That goes without saying. I would think whoever is on the outs from the Roenicke, Woods, Pressly mix would make room for the addition of Thome and/or Collabello. Clearly, Thome is a long shot, which I stated in my post. I don't think he and Collabello are exactly the same, however. Yes, they are both bats off of the bench, but one hitting left handed and one hitting right handed makes them substantially different in actual game strategy scenarios. In fact, they somewhat protect each other as opposing managers would have to be mindful when choosing to bring in same handed relievers. Who do you see as the Right handed pinch hitting option if Thome was on the 25? And conversley who is the left handed option if they go with Collabello? My point is that none of Carrol/Mastro/Escobar exactly strike fear into the hearts of opposing pitchers. Would having them both be a luxury which is far from likely? Yes. Pressly over Hernandez seems reasonable, and I admitted that Hernandez would be a sleeper choice. The left-handed option would be nice, but I agree that if Pressly has been performing better then the best reliever available should get the job regardless of R/L considerations.

Han, Why not both Colabello and Thome? Pinch hit options from both sides of the plate. If Escobar can convince Gardy he could catch in a pinch, it might be possible. My Opening Day Lineup - Blogs - Minnesota Twins News & Rumors Forum

I am so into the idea of Colabello making the team that I even included him in my Projected Opening Day Roster. My Opening Day Lineup - Blogs - Minnesota Twins News & Rumors Forum

Interesting lineup, Shane. I just posted mine, and there are many similarities between our rosters. There are a few notable exceptions as well, including a very different looking bullpen. I really feel like the season is close when i start to make projected lineups, and it really gets me excited for the season. I'm lucky my girlfriend is such a big-time Twins fan, because I'll be fooling around with my projected roster off and on every day for the next three weeks!!

Opening Day is a few weeks away, and Twins fans still don't have an exact idea of what the lineup will look like when the Twins take the field. Many people have been discussing their Opening Day roster projections. I wanted to put this on the record so that I could say "I told you so". Starting Lineup CF. Aaron Hicks 2B. Brian Dozier C. Joe Mauer LF. Josh Willingham 1B. Justin Morneau DH. Ryan Doumit 3B. Trevor Plouffe RF. Chris Parmelee SS. Eduardo Escobar Opening Day Starting Pitcher Vance Worley Rotation Mike Pelfrey Kevin Correia Cole DeVries Bullpen Glen Perkins Jared Burton Brian Duensing Casey Fien Alex Burnett Pedro Hernandez Tim Wood Josh Roenicke Bench Darin Mastrioanni Jamey Carrol Chris Colabello Jim Thome DL Scott Diamond Anthony Swarzack First off, I went under the assumption that the Twins will go with a four man rotation until April 10th when they will need the fifth starter. At that point Diamond may be ready, and if not I would expect Hendricks to get the nod. Starting the season with a four man rotation leaves an extra roster spot. I dedicated the extra spot to the bullpen, where Hernandez, Wood, and Roenicke would all get a bit of a look before waiver and option decisions have to be made. Anthony Swarzack is also likely to be ready after not too long, and he will presumably take one of those bullpen spots in the long relief role. I see the eventual rotation and bullpen looking like this: Diamond Worley Pelfrey Correia DeVries Perkins Burton Duensing Fien Burnett Hernandez Swarzack I am optimistic that Gardy can trust Escobar's ability to catch a few innings in case of an emergency situation. If Escobar is on the roster, it is unlikely that Florimon also goes north with the club. That is unless Jamey Carrol is on the outside-looking-in, which seems improbable. I see Escobar getting the starting position and Carrol in the utility role. This leaves an extra spot on the bench for some pinch hitting power. Yes, I have Jim Thome listed even though he isn't even currently employed by the Twins. I added Thome to the list mostly because of how much I would like to see it happen, and I realise that it's a long shot. Left handed pop and excitement for the fans would be nice, and without Butera on the bench it makes the luxury of a pinch hit homerun threat more feasible. I also put Colabello on the list as a right handed pinch hitting option. It would be such a fun story, and the quality of his recent production might make it much less of a long shot than it seemed coming into camp. I guess my only other real sleeper pick is Hernandez in the bullpen. Another lefty would be convenient, and I can't think of anybody who has outright won the open spot. This of course implies that Hicks winning the center field job is not a sleeper pick, which I believe is starting to become consensus among the fans and the coaching staff. This projection is a combination of what I think we will see, and what I want to see. I would maybe try Mauer batting second and would probably not bring Burnett north, but Gardy seems set on them being where they are. What do you think of my roster? Anybody care to go on the record with their projection?

Opening Day is a few weeks away, and Twins fans still don't have an exact idea of what the lineup will look like when the Twins take the field. Many people have been discussing their Opening Day roster projections. I wanted to put this on the record so that I could say "I told you so". Starting Lineup CF. Aaron Hicks 2B. Brian Dozier C. Joe Mauer LF. Josh Willingham 1B. Justin Morneau DH. Ryan Doumit 3B. Trevor Plouffe RF. Chris Parmelee SS. Eduardo Escobar Opening Day Starting Pitcher Vance Worley Rotation Mike Pelfrey Kevin Correia Cole DeVries Bullpen Glen Perkins Jared Burton Brian Duensing Casey Fien Alex Burnett Pedro Hernandez Tim Wood Josh Roenicke Bench Darin Mastrioanni Jamey Carrol Chris Colabello Jim Thome DL Scott Diamond Anthony Swarzack First off, I went under the assumption that the Twins will go with a four man rotation until April 10th when they will need the fifth starter. At that point Diamond may be ready, and if not I would expect Hendricks to get the nod. Starting the season with a four man rotation leaves an extra roster spot. I dedicated the extra spot to the bullpen, where Hernandez, Wood, and Roenicke would all get a bit of a look before waiver and option decisions have to be made. Anthony Swarzack is also likely to be ready after not too long, and he will presumably take one of those bullpen spots in the long relief role. I see the eventual rotation and bullpen looking like this: Diamond Worley Pelfrey Correia DeVries Perkins Burton Duensing Fien Burnett Hernandez Swarzack I am optimistic that Gardy can trust Escobar's ability to catch a few innings in case of an emergency situation. If Escobar is on the roster, it is unlikely that Florimon also goes north with the club. That is unless Jamey Carrol is on the outside-looking-in, which seems improbable. I see Escobar getting the starting position and Carrol in the utility role. This leaves an extra spot on the bench for some pinch hitting power. Yes, I have Jim Thome listed even though he isn't even currently employed by the Twins. I added Thome to the list mostly because of how much I would like to see it happen, and I realise that it's a long shot. Left handed pop and excitement for the fans would be nice, and without Butera on the bench it makes the luxury of a pinch hit homerun threat more feasible. I also put Colabello on the list as a right handed pinch hitting option. It would be such a fun story, and the quality of his recent production might make it much less of a long shot than it seemed coming into camp. I guess my only other real sleeper pick is Hernandez in the bullpen. Another lefty would be convenient, and I can't think of anybody who has outright won the open spot. This of course implies that Hicks winning the center field job is not a sleeper pick, which I believe is starting to become consensus among the fans and the coaching staff. This projection is a combination of what I think we will see, and what I want to see. I would maybe try Mauer batting second and would probably not bring Burnett north, but Gardy seems set on them being where they are. What do you think of my roster? Anybody care to go on the record with their projection?