richardkr34

Nah, that's not how it would work. Buxton would be replacing, let's say, Hicks' .192/.259/.338 line while playing comparable defense. Sano would be replacing Plouffe's .701 OPS (18th out of 21 among 3B). They don't need to "produce", they just need to not be awful. It has more to do with starting pitching more than anything.

Until the Twins have the next Clu Haywood in their system, I will not be satisfied.

Trout had 23 HRs in 1,117 AB during his minor league run. As far as scouting goes, from what I've heard is this: Buxton has more speed, a better glove, and a much better arm. Does he have the "feel" at the plate? That's what this year will answer.

The discussion of "inner-circle" HOF depends on how many players are in said circle. If we're talking Mays, Mantle, Musial, Hornsby, Wagner, Cobb, Schmidt, Brett, Ruth, W. Johnson, R. Johnson, Koufax, Aaron, T. Williams, then no, Jeter is not on that level.

3. This is a baseball-wide thing, but get rid of "God Bless America" in the stretch. Stupid song, stupid tradition. 2. The computer animated race stuff. Lose it. 1. Turn down the PA's mic. Can barely hear myself talking to the person next to me in between innings.

I like the one scout's comment that Buxton's floor is Torii Hunter. Think about how insane that is.

Definitely. I just want progress at this point. Things like Arcia hitting 20 bombs, Hicks with an OPS of .750, and Gibson with sub-4.00 ERA. That's the kind of things I'm looking for.

Success is - of course - subjective. You cannot expect to go into the post season with this group. Success, in this instance, is quality performances from Nolasco and Hughes, Mauer solidly transitioning to 1B, Meyer and Sano making debuts, Gibson, Arcia, Hicks, and Pinto developing, and Dozier taking another step forward. That's success for me. Oh, and Buxton finishing the last half of the year in AAA.

Stewart is in another galaxy than Kepler and Berrios.

Using the Steamer Projections at Fangraphs, the combo of Drew, Garza and Sano would accumulate 6.4 WAR in 2014; Hamels would garner 3.3. I'm okay with not having Hamels' contract around the team's neck while giving up Sano.

Next year is Jorge's age 20 season

I've only seen reports on the FB at 91-93 or 92-94, touching higher. Never saw a 98 thrown out there. That would be awesome.

Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino3h Terry Ryan termed Byron Buxton's left shoulder strain "just a tweak." Said he's "fine now."

Three teams: D-Backs, A's, BoSox

Some interesting thoughts from Keith Law on Arizona's SS prospects: "With Paul Goldschmidt kind of OK over there at first, Trumbo will have to play left field, which will bring back memories of Ryan Klesko for those of you old enough to remember that adventure; I can picture the Diamondbacks' front office sitting there at Salt River Fields in late March and wondering what the heck they'd done. The minor leaguers coming to Arizona -- one from the Angels, reportedly fringy relief prospect AJ Schugel, and one from the White Sox -- don't matter enough to change the fact that this is a net loss of value for the Diamondbacks. There could be a ripple effect for Arizona, as now third baseman Matt Davidson becomes a surplus asset with Martin Prado likely moving from left field to third base. The Diamondbacks also have two comparable shortstops in Didi Gregorius and Chris Owings, only needing to keep one of them, and could try to use these two players to fill any remaining holes." I wonder what it would take to get Chris Owings...