DocBauer

Tired of hearing about Benintendi. So tired. How many teams passed on him before Boston selected him? This the Trout arguement all over again. "If only we knew...", well...you didn't. The MLB draft draft is the biggest crap shoot in all of sports. The Twins needed pitching. They went and did something we have never seen them do in recent memory, and often complained about, they drafted a top arm with projectability. That guy was Jay. In a reportedly weak draft, they went after a big, projectable LH arm they thought they could work with and develop. At worst, they had a LH arm that projected to being great in the pen. You draft for both need and BPA don't you? I'm relatively certain...please correct me if I'm wrong...that the Twins would have drafted a front line, ACE SP or future all star position player at this spot were it made known to them. We can certainly disagree whether or not Jay should be removed, at this point, from developing his talents as a SP. And I believe there is an arguement to be made there. But I'm tired of hearing the wasted draft pick debate. Baseball HAS changed and evolved over the years, very slowly. WAY gone are 4 man pitching staffs and a collection of 200 IP rotations. And at the end of the day, the best chance you have to win is with quality SP. But in my 40+ years of following the Twins specifically and MLB in general, I've seen winning teams based on power, speed, defense, SP, RP and combinations of such. The new regime has decided that Jay can have the biggest impact going forward being a top RP. Fine. Didn't the Twins in the past, and the Royals recently, reach the WS with a couple of top starters and deep bullpen? Just saying...a lot of ways to build a winning team.

I have to agree with Goat. I don't see any need to "save face" with letting Haley go just because he was the initial rule 5 pick by the new FO. He just hasn't pitched all that well, nor as well as I hoped or even expected. Wimmers was a SP in college and most of his milb career. At this point, he could easily be the long man you need and you could keep Tonkin and hope the BB go down. Not saying it matters in the long run, because I'm not sure it does. The truth is Chargois is simply better, but had a bad spring. Would anyone be surprised to see him up in a month and taking over a key spot? Reed and Hildenberger the same, really. Either or both could be ready very soon. I still like Duffey as a starter. Again, he throws 4 pitches. His problem last season was FB location, reported by himself and backed up by the coaches,and he has looked very good most of the spring. Some kind of change could absolutely help, as any kind of decent pitch offering could help anyone, but it still comes down to FB command. But if the variations of his 2 FB and 2 different curves aren't enough, he could still be moved to the pen where he would/should have more than enough to be solid to very good. Despite being un-enthusiastic about the pen overall to begin the season, I'm not bent out of shape because I know the options available, and how quickly things can change a mere month in to the season. And I believe they will. (And we're not even talking about Jay or Melotakis at this point). In a perverse way, I like the rotation more. Santana looks good. Gibson looks good. Still mixed on Santiago..but...his finish last season and overall ST has been OK, and I'm hoping for a "tradeable " performance from him. I know many are down on Hughes, but I didn't expect to see what we have seen from him thus far. And I'm not joking here. He's been working on his change, throwing strikes, getting ahead of hitters...and then he throws a clunker! His next start, he throws another clunker in the very first inning! But then settles down to pitch 5 more innings of 1 run ball. We just don't know what we have here yet, but I am more than willing to give him a month to ramp up, feel his way back, build up velocity, and see what he can do. Still believe in Duffey if he actually has his FB command back. I believe he has earned his shot. But I am so excited to have Berrios and Mejia waiting in the wings for their opportunity. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see both with 15-20 starts for the Twins this year. Still want Vargas to get his shot and wouldn't be surprised if he rakes at AAA. The way he was playing, Adrianza might have forced DanSan off the roster. For now, he's safe. But I suspect his leash is very short and he could be done in about 30 days tops. (Though I'd re-sign him to Rochester if he goes unclaimed).

I'm thinking at this point Wimmers makes it just because. And that's not a knock. Chargois simply didn't capitalize on his ending performance last season and the open window this spring. Unfortunately for himself, as well as the team. And because of this, you may be right about Haley, but I'm just not sold on him. I wish I was, and was hoping I would be. I still think the team might be better with Duffey in the pen and Mejia in the rotation. But I'm not ready to give up on Duffey as a SP yet, and in the long run, his taking the final rotation spot is the right call. He can still move to the pen, but I think he's shown again the spring what he may be capable of. I absolutely don't believe this rotation or bullpen is what we will see a couple of months from now.

Echo enthusiasm for Molitor being willing to mix and match. I can't say for sure that Buxton is ready to hit in the 3 spot, but I find the idea intriguing to be sure. Has me thinking about Polanco first, followed by Mauer/Grossman, Buxton, then sano and Dozier in whatever order. And then Kepler, Park, Rosario and catcher. Sort of breaks up LH/RH and youth with experience thought the lineup. Would also place guys who can run well throughout the lineup.

So unbelievably disappointed and surprised by Chargois. Was he trying too hard? Really thought he had it figured out end of last season. Belisle may be solid/excellent, but I also would have gone the bounce back closer route, maybe over Kintzler. NOT interested in Haley at this point. Could Wimmers be the long man? Ugh! Give me the Chargois I hoped for and expected, even with Kintzler, and I feel so much better. Right now...again Ugh!

Nice Buxton!

I have thought about that as well and it's worth considering. But Sano has the better arm and is younger. Dozier is not remotely old, but if anyone would begin to slow down it would be him. The move to 1B puts everyone in their best overall spots and allows for Dozier to lose a step and still be effective defensively.

I know Dozier wouldn't have the classic size at 1B you would expect, but he's athletic and has good hands and obviously vast experience on the right side of the infield. His bat plays at the position for sure.

I think I'd extend Pressly but wait for everyone else until I see a full productive season from them. I know it's not a popular idea, but I still wonder about extending Dozier with an eventual move to 1B. In a year, or so, you could have an infield of Sano, Gordon, Polanco and Dozier. That infield, with this young OF, Castro and Garver at catcher, I'd be pretty excited about that everyday lineup.

Stinks for Berrios but makes sense. He saw little time with the Twins and you can say he was up to 55 pitches in bullpen, but it wasn't game action and the Twins weren't there to watch him and work with him. Next time he's up, it will hopefully be for good. Tough spring for Vargas, though I'm sure he wouldn't trade his WBC experience for anything. Thankfully he has the extra option and Park has looked much, much better.

I like that Monitor has been trying different lineups instead of being rigid in his thinking. And I agree with experimenting with Buxton a bit. Just don't confuse the kid or put too much pressure on him. I agree with lower in the lineup at first. Get him settled and comfortable and then move him up.

Interesting that after a slow start her actually been hitting. I think he's over .300 now, SSS or ST or not, he's been hitting. But how do you keep him, Escobar, Grossman and Santana? I understand the sentiment behind dropping DanSan, but not sure it's going to happen.

I also agree with Hosken on Duffey. Still too early to give up him as a starter. While a 3rd pitch, or the threat of one, could help, he throws 2 different fastballs and 2 different curves. His biggest problem last season was his FB command.

Bummer about Chargois to be sure. I had him as a sure bet initially. I'm sure he will be back soon and probably for good. But I think there is still a difference between someone established and working on something vs a young arm just not throwing well. It's hard to say someone throwing better that he doesn't deserve the opportunity.

No worries. All the runs were scored against a Russian pitcher on loan and the NORAD judges are being strict

You know, just because some of us have jobs that go in to the evening at times, with lives that involve herds of dogs and other aspects of this thing we like to call "life" that painfully restrict us from sharing our live Twins interactions doesn't mean we aren't desperate to allow our hidden Robin Williams/Vin Scully voices to be heard! Wait...who just said that? Robin? Harry? Vin? Wait! You aren't dead yet...just retired! And you were always the straight man anyway. Waitress....one more while I check the score!

Left Omaha this morning for a road trip to visit friends in my "hometown" of Kearney. Alternating between the game and boxscore on phone app while reading/blogging on TD and sampling craft beers at a micro. Sticking with their dark wheat for now (Thunderhead-Cornstalker Dark Wheat).

A couple days ago there was great lament concerning Vogelsong being the 5th SP and virtually locked in to a spot. We know how that turned out. The Twins are clearly looking at Duffey...who I still like and has looked good again...and Mejia and Berrios. There is no question someone else will be needed at some point, for whatever reason (s), so all 3 could see significant action this season for various reasons and degrees. Was it Nick or Brock...I can't remember now...that caught so much flack a couple months ago about not giving up on the 2017 season before it even began? Regardless, this team is/has been in rebuild mode, without publicly stating such. But there is a difference between rebuilding and giving up on a season, vs rebuilding and still trying to put the best team on the field. Daley and Levine, in their limited time on the job, appear to be taking the latter approach. And I can't find myself disagreeing with it. They improved the catching. The OF, left side if the infield, at least one SP are all very young. And believe me, I'd absolutely love to see Berrios AND Mejia in the rotation, as well as Duffey there or the bullpen and maybe a couple September call ups or 2. But the reality is that invites speed bumps and possible losing. The FO wants to rebuild and get better, but not just concede anything. I actually like that. NOT going to drag this on longer, but Gibson IS a big comeback option. Santana IS still good. You ARE paying Hughes no matter what, he was injured, he IS talented, there IS a real possibility of rebound. Great article here on TD about Santiago and possibilities there. Crazy, blinded optimist or not, I think there is something here to work with and hope for. And I don't believe the new FO is necessarily committed to anyone in particular or reluctant to make change. That may be the most important item of all.

The Twins catching situation has changed tremendously since last season. I believe Castro was an excellent overall signing and will be a big improvement, especially if his off days can be managed mostly against LH pitching. Giminez is a solid, experienced RH option. And the fact that Garver may already be better than Giminez is not an indictment of Giminez or the decision to keep him, but rather, what is to come in the near future. But I would take Turner back in a heartbeat unless the Reds offered up something quality in exchange. Murphy still hasn't shown much. The young talent at the position in the system is just that, young and in low milb. Turner provides value behind the plate and has flashes of some power as well as decent contact ability. There is still potential there and depth is a nice thing to have.

On a serious note, I really do get what Falvey and Levine are doing. And really, that deserves a thread or at least a blog of its own. I mean, we all play GM in our spare time, but look where they are sitting as they come in. They are inheriting a team that doesn't exactly have a lousy history or one that hasn't achieved greatness or goodness at various times. Despite some poor seasons lately, this is NOT some downtrodden, woe is me franchise. There is real talent to work with and build on. But if you took over a franchise, and had hope and a vision, with a core of some really nice young players in place, and more in the pipeline, but a few rough seasons to this point, what would you do? Catching kind of stunk. So you go out and sign a top catcher to help the position and help your staff. Beyond that, not sure what else you have for sure, you sign a good clubhouse guy you know and trust for a backup spot. Unsure about your pen...since you can't fix your rotation with a singular Batman type swoop...you sign a solid veteran like Belisle and a flier like the experienced and smart Breslow. (I still would have rolled the dice on a closer rebound). Breslow is no major move, or savior of any kind. But he IS "crafty" in that he is experienced and smart and embracing the very kind of pitching analytics we are talking about the Twins employing. I don't even care if he is "flipable" for a prospect down the line. He provides my team with, potentially, a quality, veteran LHRP for the moment, while guys like Jay and Melotakis get ready to supplant him. I see this is as a small movement forward, for a forward thinking new regime, in the bigger picture of what is to come.

Sometimes, as is my personality I guess, I get as eager to post something as Samuel L Jackson is to recite his next lines of "M..... F.....!" Wait, this a real post and not a game thread, right? Better slow my roll before I get my first warning points. Lol

I fully admit to a few adult "pops" while posting once in a while, but man, I need to be less impatient and re-read my posts better to look for goofs before I click the "post" button. Pretty soon "DocBauer" is going to look more like "DocBrown" or worse "ReverendJim".

Yes it was! LOL. OMG...I know I text and post too quickly at times, but I am truly a very, very young and vibrant 51yo. Am I turning in to Chief? Lol All due respect.

LOL! Believe it or not, that was supposed to say "Duffey" but auto correct and my eating lunch didn't mesh too well. At least...thats my story And I'm sticking to it.

Nice read! Berrios is probably not going to be stretched out enough to win the spot, unfortunately. Doesn't mean he doesn't come up soon. I think it is down to Duffey and Mejia. The winner may actually depend on the final makeup of the pen. As for Hughes, today was a major bummer. But he has looked pretty good until today and has far exceeded my expectations. Let's how he looks next time out. Guys sometimes just have bad days.