dougkoebernick

For the first time in my long life as a Twins' fan I am going to get to go to spring training (the week of March 7th). I'm looking for people's input who have been there on what to do while there - such as how to watch minor league practices/games, where to go before and after the games, how to best get tickets, and maybe even any good tourist sites in the Ft. Myers area. Any thoughts my fellow Twins fans can provide would be greatly appreciated! EDIT (diehardtwinsfan): Putting schedule at top of thread: Halsey Hall and Bob Sacramento- all ST ChitownTwinsFan - Feb 28-March13 SDBuhr - March 14-23 Loosey - Feb 14-18 Dougkeobernick - March 7-13 Ronal Zimmerman - March 21-? Diehardtwinsfan - March 11-13

Could not agree more. Great post.

I would think that they are looking for quality as they already have a lot of quantity in their farm system.

Figuring out what to do with Nolasco is going to be interesting and a challenge. Unfortunately for him, he hasn't shown what he can do, but even then if you look at his career he has rarely been an average or above average pitcher. The Twins signed after he had a good year with the hope that the promise that he showed when he was 25 or so and from that year would lead to bigger and better things. It hasn't. I'd actually put him in the bullpen and see what you can get out of him. I'd also put May in the bullpen and have Milone and Duffey start. However, I think that Milone will struggle for a few starts and if the Twins are playing well and Berrios is throwing well then he takes Milone's spot. Milone's room for error seems small and when he is a little hurt or off it shows quickly.

Rosario LF, Buxton CF Sano RF 4th OF - Santana (only because I want Kepler to get ABs in AAA for awhile) Bench Bat - Walker DH - Park By the way, Benson, of the .253 minor league career average, would have to hit about .600 for me to stand up and take notice of him and even then he starts in AA or AAA.

Excellent analysis.

I would guess that the Twins have done their due diligence on this and not just watched some youtube videos. If they overpay, it is their money and at least they are willing to write some big checks. Along those lines, I applaud them for signing Nolasco, Hughes and Santana. They had to spend some money to get actual big league pitchers to come to Minnesota and begin the process of stabilizing the rotation. They could have gone cheap and not signed them but they were at least trying. Nolasco hasn't worked out yet but he has shown glimpses when not injured. I think Santana is a good get and Hughes hopefully will bounce back from his injury and be the Hughes of 2014 in 2016.

Which Hicks are you talking about? The one who got on a bit of a roll in July and got everyone excited or the one who slumped the last 40 games of the season? To me, the one who slumped is the one who has shown up most the past three years so that's who I traded if I'm TR. I hope Hicks turns into a star or even a valuable everyday player but at this point and based on his body of work I think it was a fair trade based on baseball reasons.

Trevor Plouffe, Steve Mura & Al Olmstead to the Cardinals for Sixto Lezcano, Luis DeLeon and Gary Templeton. .

I just don't think he is the guy in a corner spot down the road. You can do better than him when it comes to the bat without giving up a lot of defense. To me he is a solid CF and that's his spot whereas Kepler is a better corner OF down the road. Just my two cents.

w Good thoughts - thanks for sharing

I remember watching his stats go down, down, down after he got everyone excited in July/August. In September/October he was less than special. I hope for his sake that he is more of the July/August Hicks in the future but I just wasn't sold on that happening and preferred Rosario over Hicks.

That's an interesting thought on Span.

Hicks getting traded made a lot of sense. He is not a corner OF and sometime in 2016 the CF of the future will be the CF of the now. What does that leave the Twins? Here are my prediction/thoughts: Sano gives LF a go (unless everyone is right about Plouffe getting traded than I'll delete this ridiculous post). The guy is athletic and much worse athletes have been in the outfield and survived and even thrived. At the end of the day, it's baseball. He can run, catch and throw so give him a shot - especially if he is open to it. What happens with the remaining two spots? Shane Robinson is the total fallback for CF but here's what I think happens. They go to Spring Training and Buxton, Rosario and Kepler go all out. Buxton focuses solely on CF but the good thing is (and Seth can correct me if I'm wrong) that Kepler and Rosario are pretty solid CF options as well. If Kepler does a good job in the spring and Buxton doesn't then Rosario and Kepler get the CF and RF spots. If Buxton plays well they'll put him in CF and most likely Rosario goes to RF. Should Kepler, Buxton and Rosario all play well in spring training then we should all being jumping up and down in excitement about the Twins having to make a tough decision on that. If Plouffe gets traded that may end up with the Twins having a future outfield of Kepler, Buxton, and Rosario. To me that is a pretty good outfield. I really think that one of Buxton and Kepler locks down a spot out of spring training. If Kepler needs more work and Sano is at 3B then Arcia goes to LF. I truly believe that Arcia had some sort of ailment that altered his swing and my hope he is healthy and in shape and ready to go in the spring. So what's my final guess? Sano goes to 3B because Plouffe goes to the Angels. Rosario starts in RF. Buxton starts in CF. Arcia starts in LF. Kepler starts in AAA. Robinson is the 4th OF. Kepler gets called up after Arcia pulls a hammy on May 11th.

Hicks was expendable. This is a gamble but there isn't much out there as far as catchers. He's only 24 and has hit decently and apparently has played ok defense for the Yankees so it is worth a shot. At least TR is trying

Thanks - I hope it works out for everyone.

Stockpiling talent. That's nothing to complain about. What a difference a few years make.

Great post - couldn't agree more. This is not your garbage man filling in for your neurosurgeon.

Nice job Terry Ryan.

That's a pretty darn good column - I can't say I disagree with anything in it.

I wish I knew how Molitor and Ryan ranked their outfielders as far as current and future value. I would probably have them ranked like this: Buxton Sano (only because I'm not sure if he'll end up there and if so if it will be for very long) Kepler Rosario Hicks Arcia

I've been thinking about posting this for awhile but now seems like the right time. A few years ago I called my shot that both Revere and Span would be traded and it happened. I now think TR is shopping Hicks for these reasons: 1) His value is decent - nothing exceptional but he's shown glimpses to tease other teams; 2) He doesn't have a spot in CF past the first few months of 2016...if that; and, 3) He really isn't a corner outfielder and I don't think he ever will be. I hope I'm wrong for his sake but I just don't see it (I think that's a scientific term for "feeling in my gut"). With that said, I actually wouldn't be surprised if Rosario was floated out there as well but I think is worth more to the Twins in the long run and can be a productive corner outfielder. I'm not sure what the plan is for Kepler and sure wish I knew what they were thinking because he truly is intriguing. Finally, I think this opens a spot for Sano in RF and then Plouffe stays at 3B if they truly want to keep both of them.

Plouffe to Right Field

Exactly. I haven't heard anyone from the Twins say that he has X value.

Do you think his quickest route to the big leagues is as a SP or RP? I think that may partially be where Seth is coming from - that and the fact that I don't think he is in the top seven right now for a SP slot.