Ncgo4

I don’t care if you’re down by 20. If they haven’t called the game, the job of the hitter is to get on base...good for him.

Sano, Buxton, Rosario, Polanco & Kepler. The 5 current MLB offensive players we got while the team was a floundering mess. Eech has issues and hints of great potential. Who will they become. Sano. Our most troubled member of the group. He has weight issues, he has personality isdues. He has a bat that can kill and an arm that can stop a rally. This is the year we find out what will emerge. A 50 dinger superstar or a moody 320 lb memory of what might have been. Polanco. Under aged at every level. Always improving and then over performing at every level. The last half of last year was more of the same. This year we find out a lot about who he really is. He also improved in the field. If the last half of last year’s hitting was real he cannot be kept off the field. This year will tell us a lot. Buxton. MLB’s best outfielder. Period. MLB’s biggest mystery of a hitter, possibly. Just based on his defensive skills and base running he’s a star. If last year’s Last half hitting was real he’s one of the 10 best in baseball. Kepler. The Twin’s German development project is now into his 3rd year in the Bigs. Can hit hit southpaws like he once did, or was last year when they figured him out? Can he hit for power with any consistency? Can he field with consistency? This could really be a make or break year. Rosario, Rosario, Rosario. Never valued as highly as I thought he should be. Always overshadowed by Sano & Buxton. Always displaying goofy, if not bad, body language. But always had good to really good numbers. Until last July he never saw a pitch he didn’t like. Then like a light switch came on he got walks (honest, he really did). Lowered his K rate and looked like a super star. This is my mystery man into the 2018 year. What’s it all mean? It means if 1 reaches their full high side, and 2 others come close, we probably make the playoffs. If 3 achieve last year’s 2nd Hall production we have an amazing year no matter the pitching. If the unmentionable happens on the downside, we buy Gopher football tickets. On the upside, we paint out cars in Twins colors. When someone is listed as “critical” by their doctor, it doesn’t mean they are going to die. It means they could go either way. The 2018 Twins are at a critical junction. Gunna be fun to watch.

This is the season of young guy watch. Sano, Buxton, Rosario, Polanco, Kepler. This is the offensive heart of the Twins years of floundering. This is the year we find out which of these 5 are serviceable, which are really good and who, if anyone is a superstar. My bet for super stardom are Buxton and Polanco. Only time will tell.

So is Darvish.

Which week, exactly is "This Week"?

He'll sure as hell have a lot less studying to do in the SEC than he will with the Twins.

This is a terrible moment for Minnesota Twins Baseball. The young woman, Sano, the Twine and the fans. No one wins. Two observations. First if the allegations are true, they needed to be aired. If true, the writer had the obligation to protect other young women. Secondly, the timing is fortuitous. If, as reported, the statute of limitations has expired, then the examination of the facts won’t be clouded by an overhanging threat of jail. This can be investigated thoroughly and a decision made on what is generally agreed are the facts. If the facts as reported are determined to be true, Mr. Sano will pay a dear price for his actions, as he should. Following what I assume would be less than a full season suspension, he will face unmerciful cat calls and ridicule for years. I’m not convinced he has the makeup to deal well with what he could likely face. Not a happy day for Twin’s fans.

Extend a rich contract to a 290 lb, 25 year old with a bad leg coming off very serious surgery? Yeah, that would be real, real smart. Buxton, Rosario, Berrios? Absolutely! Sano, not a chance in heck!

Both are going to be long term injury risks. Sano is just flat out not in shape. If they put him at DH he can hide his obesity and last a long time. I doubt, however, if this is what he wants. Time will tell what he decides for his body. Right now I'm guessing beer, or whatever, wins out. As to Buxton, his physique is freakish. He has no body fat at all and that means he is lacking a layer of protection. He needs to learn when it is appropriate to risk injury. Crashing into the wall at full speed to save a double or triple in the first inning or when trailing by five runs in the eighth aren't appropriate times to risk being out for two or three weeks. He is our best player right now by a long shot, a run or two is not a good risk v a three week injury.

I've got an idea. Send Sano home with Berrios. Let him follow Jose's off season nutrition and training regimen for 3 or 4 months and then turn him loose on the rest of baseball.

The Twin's improvement centered mostly around the improved hitting of a few younger hitters. Buxton, Polanco, Rosario & Escobar had an amazing 2ng half of the season. I'm not sure how much credit for this goes to Molitor but I'll bet F & L do. The analysis of the turn around will determine Mollie's future and I trust the team management will make this determination quickly. I expect he'll be gone, but I'm not willing to bet on it.

Buxton has a gun of an arm. He supposedly hot high 90's when pitching in high school. Only issue appears to be that he rushes his throws back into the infield. Arm strength, however, is a major plus.

Gleeman described it, I believe, as "stress related". Further examination to follow. If this means "stress fracture" that's a broken bone. I've had it in a fore arm injury and mine was caused by a twisting kind of thing. A usage injury rather than a collision event.

The two biggest advances on the Twin's offense is Buxton's and Rosario's improved recognition of the strike zone. It has meant two marginal O players becoming stars.

If a month ago I'da said that Polanco, Buxton & Rosario would carry this team into playoff contention every one, including me, woulda thought I was nuts. Man what a run for these 3. Fun watching.

At 270, or so, Sano is one of the heaviest if not THE heaviest 3rd basemen of all times. It's a position that puts very serious physical demands on it's practicioners. Is it any wonder that Miguel hits real well for a week or 10 days and then seems to just run oughta gas? He's now 24, this tendency will not get better when he's 25, 26 or 27. The worst part of this is it seems like no one else in the team wants himself or his team to succeed more than Sano does. The problem is that as soon as next year he will self-assign himself to the role of DH. It's a shame, but someone that weighs as much as a small Shetland Pony is not going to play in the field.

What might we expect? Gonsalves & Romero on the mound. Garver behind the plate. Gordon at short. This would give us the lineup we've been anticipating for a while. Would certainly be an interesting intro to next year. Would also cause some issues. I'd move Polanco to 2nd where he belongs and then do what with Dozier? Put him to first? Molly would be in a tough position. Playing players to observe them and probably lose some games at the same time he's playing for his life.

It's easy to forget just how young Sano, Buxton & Rosario are. As to Sano, if he finally makes a commitment to getting in shape over the off season, he might not just be a solid player. Ho could be a very special, elite player. Did I just channel PJ Fleck?

You maybe should have started with Stewart. LOL

As of the last few months, Eddie has been the best hitter on the team, period. I've always liked him. All through the minors he posted good and sometimes great numbers and all we heard was about Buxton and Sano. Rosario seldom got his due, IMHO. His improvement at the plate this year has been significant in almost every way. An occasional brain fart? Sure, but mostly because he's being aggressive.

I don't get it. We don't want to give up a 40 man spot to Hurlbut but we're prepared to give that spot to a free agent 4th or 5th starter who projects to be no better than Hurlbut. And much older. And much more expensive. Why not put Hurlbut into the 5th starter spot?

I don't think this is going to be an issue. They are now playing for two goals. Test the kids and improve our draft position.

The Twins were in this only because better teams were playing below their margin. Things have returned more to the mean and the Twins do not have the horses to make it up on 1 team, let alone, now, 2. They don't have a good team. Sano is quickly returning to his 35% K rate. But, hey, he's the best 275 lb 3rd baseman in MLB. They have 2, maybe 2 1/2 starting pitchers. No DH. A CF'er who has concussion issues, migraine headaches, and keeps running head first into the CF wall. And, of course behind the plate...well, never mind. And really we shouldn't talk about non-closing relief pitching, should we? We may have some answers coming up (we pray) and it's time to find out if it's true. The trades they made will only hurt us this year. Bottom line, any win could cost us a draft position. We are currently 15th in the draft, let's see how it goes. These deals were needed and could turn out good.

I may be crazy, but could a new mgr help? Rosario just seems to need a hug once in a while. Methinks Molly isn't a hug kind of a guy. I really believe that Eddie is potentially a great Left Fielder. He's got the arm and the range. If he can just stay focused in the field and at the plate he could be a 10 year rock in the corner.