Shane Wahl

No one is going to take him this year for anything of great value. He gets paid $14 million next year.

Please tell me that you have the positions for Revere and Plouffe flipped.

Precisely. And that's terrible. The old guys caricatured at the beginning of Moneyball might not be caricatures in the Twins organization. Only Rantz is that damn old though.

DeVries will get his second start Tuesday, the Twins have an off-day Thursday so that would allow them to send DeVries down and wait on Blackburn or whatever until June 5th.

The thing is it seems pretty guaranteed that Oliveros is going to be a viable reliever going forward from 2013 on. Same for Guerra, most likely. That isn't known for Slama. So . . . maybe they should FIND OUT!?

Yeah, I ignored the 60-day thing. So . . . again, no respect for Slama.

Lester will be the guy, then. I would assume they will wait with Guerra a bit yet.

No, by my count there are 40. Nishioka is one of them though . . .

Game one: Michigan State def. Nebraska 10-9 Game two: Ohio State def. Penn State 12-5 Game three: Nebraska eliminated Penn State 12-3 Game four: Indiana def. Michigan State 6-4 Game five: Purdue def. Ohio State 5-4 Game-by-game player notables: In game one, Tony Bucciferro was very good, giving up only one earned run in 8 innings. In game two, Jaron Long struggled for Ohio State, only going three innings. In game three, Michael Pritchard went 2-for-6 to continue a very strong tournament for the Big Ten's leader in batting average. Chad Christiansen hit is 10th homer. In game four, Sam Travis went 2-for-4 with a double. Joey DeNato gave up 4 runs in 7 2/3 innings. In game five, Big Ten hitter of the year, Kevin Plawecki went for 2-for-3 with 3 rbi, and a 2-run homer in the 7th. Nebraska plays Ohio State in an elimination game at noon (EST) today. The winner takes on Michigan State at 3:30 (EST). IU and Purdue face off at 7 (EST). I expect Nebraska to win the first game, but Michigan State to beat them. Purdue should handle IU. I imagine that Michigan State will work its way back to the title game by beating IU on Saturday. For those watching the nightcap, Kevin Plawecki impressed at the plate. He has a great approach. He is aggressive, but still works walks. And he delivered the key homer, with Purdue down a run.

Game one: Michigan State def. Nebraska 10-9 Game two: Ohio State def. Penn State 12-5 Game three: Nebraska eliminated Penn State 12-3 Game four: Indiana def. Michigan State 6-4 Game five: Purdue def. Ohio State 5-4 Game-by-game player notables: In game one, Tony Bucciferro was very good, giving up only one earned run in 8 innings. In game two, Jaron Long struggled for Ohio State, only going three innings. In game three, Michael Pritchard went 2-for-6 to continue a very strong tournament for the Big Ten's leader in batting average. Chad Christiansen hit is 10th homer. In game four, Sam Travis went 2-for-4 with a double. Joey DeNato gave up 4 runs in 7 2/3 innings. In game five, Big Ten hitter of the year, Kevin Plawecki went for 2-for-3 with 3 rbi, and a 2-run homer in the 7th. Nebraska plays Ohio State in an elimination game at noon (EST) today. The winner takes on Michigan State at 3:30 (EST). IU and Purdue face off at 7 (EST). I expect Nebraska to win the first game, but Michigan State to beat them. Purdue should handle IU. I imagine that Michigan State will work its way back to the title game by beating IU on Saturday. For those watching the nightcap, Kevin Plawecki impressed at the plate. He has a great approach. He is aggressive, but still works walks. And he delivered the key homer, with Purdue down a run.

The difference is probably minimal. Revere-Span-Willingham is how it should be or at least they should DH Willingham a bit more.

Mauer needs to be batting second, Willingham third, etc. OBP matters, Gardenhire.

I would like to see data on how many warning track flyballs and off the wall hits the Twins have had vs. how many opponents have had. Then I'll answer the question!

Very interesting idea. Of course teams could just adjust, if that "setting the lineup" thing as merit (one way to check this would be to see how the top three do elsewhere in the game if they lead off the inning 1-2-3--which happens sometimes in the 4th) I do think, however, that perhaps a lot of the 1st inning scoring might have to do more with pitchers and getting "settled" into the game. You would still have that problem with whoever came into pitch the second. But very interesting. As far as the lineup goes, Willingham should bat third behind Mauer. You want your best power hitter batting third because he often comes up with 2 outs and no one on in that first inning. With 2 outs and no one on, the most likely run-producing situation is simply the homer.

By the way, I am sure that Revere would be an elite LF, defensively. Good-great CF, but elite LF.

I still don't understand how it isn't obvious that they should have gone with the OG lineup coming into spring training? Revere may not be great, but he certainly is probably about a .100 OPS better than the nonsense thrown out in RF (Doumit as a RF didn't hit either), and the defensive improvement alone might be worth a win.

Haha! Nice.

I would trade Revere.

To Plouffe: by the day you turn 26, you better have your (expletive deleted) together (close to .700 OPS by that time, for instance).

ginnarthor, LF is bigger than RF in Target Field. To me, Ramirez should have been considered higher on the depth chart than Mastroianni, so we will see if they swap them in the next few weeks.

The average age is higher, but I doubt the average age of actual prospects is higher. Benson should have gotten a stint at Rochester in August last year and he should have never been demoted this year.

It's not even June yet.

Here is an update on my top 50 prospects list from February. I will actually construct a new list soon. 1. Miguel Sano (2): Confirming the unanimous #1 ranking. Will go through some ups and downs this year and strikes out a lot, but his ceiling keeps getting higher. Ranking status: stays at the top. 2. Aaron Hicks (1): Some scoffed at keeping Hicks so high. This season is a mixed bag of good and not-so-good for Hicks (as is true of many New Britain players, see throughout). His OPS is basically the same as FTM last year, but with a drop in OBP and a rise in SLG. (He had as many homers this year as he did all season last year). Perhaps the changes are an attempt to expand Hicks' offensive capabilities as was the case with Chris Parmelee through the years. One thing to be looking for is a decision about the switch-hitting status. The splits are still there this year. I would personally like to see Hicks try batting right against righties to see if he hits them better from that side. Ranking status: probably down a spot. 3. Oswaldo Arcia (10): After a so-so 2011 season in Fort Myers, Arcia is hitting well again and is flat-out destroying RH pitching. Arcia has more walks this year than all of last year in Fort Myers. I would like to see him dominate in A+ for 2 more months, hopefully hitting better against lefties, before a late promotion to New Britain to get him ready for 2013. Ranking status: probably up a spot. 4. Eddie Rosario (19): Rosario's offensive performance this year justifies my trepidation about putting him at the two spot, which was almost unanimous heading into the season. Granted, as a second baseman his numbers are still fantastic. But if he doesn't stick at second base, then his numbers are very good but not great. He's still young, though, and his BB/K rate after moving up a level has risen immensely, so that is a great sign. Ranking status: stays the same. 5. Liam Hendriks (7): It would be nice if, given Hendriks performance as a Twin this year, there would be someone behind him on the list to knock Hendriks out of the top 5, but that isn't happening (especially if Dozier's days in the minors are over). And maybe it shouldn't as Hendriks needs more time mastering his approach in AAA. I really like what he can offer the Twins as a 3 or 4 starter down the road. Ranking status: stays the same. 6. Joe Benson (8): Benson has been injured and demoted (foolishly) this year. He has enormous upside, but needs to hit the ball. I am more worried about some underlying injury than about any actual troubles with AAA pitching at the moment. Ranking status: drops one. 7. Kyle Gibson (4): Gibson's injury doesn't affect his prospect status for me at the moment. He is on track to pitch some minor league innings late in the season. Ranking status: drops one. 8. Adrian Salcedo (12): Salcedo's year has been bad. He just recently got hit in the face on a come-backer that came back too fast. Hopefully he can get it together in June again and show that he is worthy of Fort Myers at the moment. Ranking status: drops one. 9. Chris Parmelee (14): The Twins were misguided in judging Parmelee by a September showing and spring training performance instead of his minor league track record. Finally at AAA for the first time, he is coming around and needs to stay there for an extended time. Ranking status: drops one. 10. Brian Dozier (36): Dozier is going to be a solid player. He may not be great, but he is going to get the job done, and I will say that the ceiling for him is still up in the air. Good defensively and offensively is what the Twins need. He sounds smart, knows what he is doing, and cares about achieving as much as he can. I actually liked seeing him struggle against Gavin Floyd. He will learn from it. Ranking status: up to 6. ---- 11. Alex Wimmers (5): Terrified for him. Ranking status: stays the same. 12. Max Kepler (13): Can't wait to see him dominate E-Town. Ranking status: stays the same. 13. Chris Herrmann (35): Big season to shine. Ranking status: stays the same. 14. Angel Morales (5): Really struggling. Ranking status: drops several. 15. Manuel Soliman (16): Injured, hopefully gets it going. Ranking status: drops a few. 16. Travis Harrison (NR): Very interested to see him actually playing. Ranking status: stays the same. 17. Niko Goodrum (24): Should excel in E-Town, move to Beloit late. Ranking status: stays the same. 18. Hudson Boyd (NR): Same as Harrison. Ranking status: stays the same. 19. David Bromberg (11): Excited to see him striking people out in AA. Has to be promoted soon and I would think is a Twin at some point this year. Ranking status: rises several. 20. Levi Michael (NR): Not a great start, but the plate discipline is there. stays the same ---- 21. Madison Boer (NR) drops some 22. B.J. Hermsen (18) rises some 23. Nate Roberts (27) drops some 24. JaDamion Williams (NR) drops some 25. Carlos Gutierrez (15) drops some 26. Jairo Perez (NR) rises a bit 27. Tom Stuifbergen (32) drops some 28. Matt Hauser (NR) rises some 29. Deolis Guerra (39) rises some 30. Lance Ray (41) stays the same 31. Pat Dean (23) stays the same 32. Scott Diamond (26) rises some 33. Danny Santana (50) rises some 34. Tyler Robertson (NR) stays the same 35. Terry Doyle (NR) gone 36. Corey Williams (NR) rises some 37. Matthew Summers (NR) stays the same 38. Tim Shibuya (NR) rises some 39. Logan Darnell (48) stays the same 40. Bobby Lanigan (40) rises some 41. Danny Ortiz (21) stays the same 42. Danny Rams (46) drops some 43. Rory Rhodes (HM) drops some 44. Angel Mata (NR) stays the same 45. Evan Bigley (42) drops off 46. Bruce Pugh (34) rises some 47. Dakota Watts (29) stays the same 48. James Beresford (30) rises some 49. Anderson Hidalgo (31) drops off 50. Jorge Polanco (NR) stays the same

Here is an update on my top 50 prospects list from February. I will actually construct a new list soon. 1. Miguel Sano (2): Confirming the unanimous #1 ranking. Will go through some ups and downs this year and strikes out a lot, but his ceiling keeps getting higher. Ranking status: stays at the top. 2. Aaron Hicks (1): Some scoffed at keeping Hicks so high. This season is a mixed bag of good and not-so-good for Hicks (as is true of many New Britain players, see throughout). His OPS is basically the same as FTM last year, but with a drop in OBP and a rise in SLG. (He had as many homers this year as he did all season last year). Perhaps the changes are an attempt to expand Hicks' offensive capabilities as was the case with Chris Parmelee through the years. One thing to be looking for is a decision about the switch-hitting status. The splits are still there this year. I would personally like to see Hicks try batting right against righties to see if he hits them better from that side. Ranking status: probably down a spot. 3. Oswaldo Arcia (10): After a so-so 2011 season in Fort Myers, Arcia is hitting well again and is flat-out destroying RH pitching. Arcia has more walks this year than all of last year in Fort Myers. I would like to see him dominate in A+ for 2 more months, hopefully hitting better against lefties, before a late promotion to New Britain to get him ready for 2013. Ranking status: probably up a spot. 4. Eddie Rosario (19): Rosario's offensive performance this year justifies my trepidation about putting him at the two spot, which was almost unanimous heading into the season. Granted, as a second baseman his numbers are still fantastic. But if he doesn't stick at second base, then his numbers are very good but not great. He's still young, though, and his BB/K rate after moving up a level has risen immensely, so that is a great sign. Ranking status: stays the same. 5. Liam Hendriks (7): It would be nice if, given Hendriks performance as a Twin this year, there would be someone behind him on the list to knock Hendriks out of the top 5, but that isn't happening (especially if Dozier's days in the minors are over). And maybe it shouldn't as Hendriks needs more time mastering his approach in AAA. I really like what he can offer the Twins as a 3 or 4 starter down the road. Ranking status: stays the same. 6. Joe Benson (8): Benson has been injured and demoted (foolishly) this year. He has enormous upside, but needs to hit the ball. I am more worried about some underlying injury than about any actual troubles with AAA pitching at the moment. Ranking status: drops one. 7. Kyle Gibson (4): Gibson's injury doesn't affect his prospect status for me at the moment. He is on track to pitch some minor league innings late in the season. Ranking status: drops one. 8. Adrian Salcedo (12): Salcedo's year has been bad. He just recently got hit in the face on a come-backer that came back too fast. Hopefully he can get it together in June again and show that he is worthy of Fort Myers at the moment. Ranking status: drops one. 9. Chris Parmelee (14): The Twins were misguided in judging Parmelee by a September showing and spring training performance instead of his minor league track record. Finally at AAA for the first time, he is coming around and needs to stay there for an extended time. Ranking status: drops one. 10. Brian Dozier (36): Dozier is going to be a solid player. He may not be great, but he is going to get the job done, and I will say that the ceiling for him is still up in the air. Good defensively and offensively is what the Twins need. He sounds smart, knows what he is doing, and cares about achieving as much as he can. I actually liked seeing him struggle against Gavin Floyd. He will learn from it. Ranking status: up to 6. ---- 11. Alex Wimmers (5): Terrified for him. Ranking status: stays the same. 12. Max Kepler (13): Can't wait to see him dominate E-Town. Ranking status: stays the same. 13. Chris Herrmann (35): Big season to shine. Ranking status: stays the same. 14. Angel Morales (5): Really struggling. Ranking status: drops several. 15. Manuel Soliman (16): Injured, hopefully gets it going. Ranking status: drops a few. 16. Travis Harrison (NR): Very interested to see him actually playing. Ranking status: stays the same. 17. Niko Goodrum (24): Should excel in E-Town, move to Beloit late. Ranking status: stays the same. 18. Hudson Boyd (NR): Same as Harrison. Ranking status: stays the same. 19. David Bromberg (11): Excited to see him striking people out in AA. Has to be promoted soon and I would think is a Twin at some point this year. Ranking status: rises several. 20. Levi Michael (NR): Not a great start, but the plate discipline is there. stays the same ---- 21. Madison Boer (NR) drops some 22. B.J. Hermsen (18) rises some 23. Nate Roberts (27) drops some 24. JaDamion Williams (NR) drops some 25. Carlos Gutierrez (15) drops some 26. Jairo Perez (NR) rises a bit 27. Tom Stuifbergen (32) drops some 28. Matt Hauser (NR) rises some 29. Deolis Guerra (39) rises some 30. Lance Ray (41) stays the same 31. Pat Dean (23) stays the same 32. Scott Diamond (26) rises some 33. Danny Santana (50) rises some 34. Tyler Robertson (NR) stays the same 35. Terry Doyle (NR) gone 36. Corey Williams (NR) rises some 37. Matthew Summers (NR) stays the same 38. Tim Shibuya (NR) rises some 39. Logan Darnell (48) stays the same 40. Bobby Lanigan (40) rises some 41. Danny Ortiz (21) stays the same 42. Danny Rams (46) drops some 43. Rory Rhodes (HM) drops some 44. Angel Mata (NR) stays the same 45. Evan Bigley (42) drops off 46. Bruce Pugh (34) rises some 47. Dakota Watts (29) stays the same 48. James Beresford (30) rises some 49. Anderson Hidalgo (31) drops off 50. Jorge Polanco (NR) stays the same

Don't excuse Gardenhire for that, John. That was a huge mistake. Willingham should have been able to handle RF, an easier position at Target Field. It was a ridiculous decision. But what do I know? I am the guy who wanted to throw a few million at Andruw Jones or Cody Ross or Bobby Abreu or Ty Wigginton or . . . Left field is bigger than right field at the place the Twins play half of there games at. This Willingham thing caused a change reaction at the same time Morneau's situation caused a chain reaction and the Twins took the worst path possible. Sign Clete Thomas instead of moving Willingham over? What?