tarheeltwinsfan

Sounds like a great guy...someone I'd want my son to play for. Good luck to Tommy Watkins.

To determine whether a pitcher is an ace, you must ask the following question: "The ace of what?" Is Ervin the ace of the Twins' 2017 starting pitchers? Yes. Is he the ace of the American League for 2017? So far this season, probably yes. Is he the ace of all MLB for 2017? Maybe...so far. Is he "an" ace of mlb for the last 10 years? No he is not. It all depends on the comparisons. Like most things in life, this question is one of relativity. Compared to what? But for us at Twins Daily we only need to ask, "Do I want him to pitch for the Twins every 5th day". Absolutely!

Your point is really a great point. I had not really thought of this. This is a huge deviation from the past 4-5 years.

Agreed.

I agree. Castro has been a real difference-maker behind the plate. He's worth every penny of his $8,000,000 so far this year...even with his low BA. I give him a lot of credit for the Twins' pitchers improved numbers this year.

Is there any future contractual $ advantage for the Twins to keep Berrios and Mejia in AAA?

Nick, Now that we know you can accurately predict the future, when are you moving to Las Vegas?

Joe "Quagmire" Mauer just won the game with a walk off home run. That made me very happy. Thanks Joe!

This report does not seem to justify making McKay the first choice in the entire draft. A middle of the rotation starter? A hitter who may not be able to catch up with major league fastballs?

How can a 2-1 10 inning game be "boring"?

I'm happy. The Twins are over .500, it is the most beautiful month of the year, the Tar Heels are national champs in basketball, I just has some good North Carolina BBQ and my family is well...and I am alive! "The snail's on the thorn, God's in His heaven, all's right with the world".

Keep him to mentor our young pitchers who will soon be arriving.

Miguel needs a good nickname. What are some suggestions? I suggest some variation referring to "Exit Velocity".. Maybe "Duck" or a variation of the Chattanooga team name: "Look Out".

Thanks for this great trip down Memory Lane.

Please give us an indepth background report on Nik Turley. His first 2 games have been nothing short of incredible.

During the Yankee dynasties of the 50's, the Yankees would win, win, win against the bad teams and break even against the good teams. The Twins don't have to sweep every series...just most series against the bad teams and then come close to breaking even with the good teams. If they do that...the results will be awesome.

I think that for the pitcher and his teammates in the field, a walk is more frustrating than a sharply hit single. "Just get the ball over"..."Let them hit it and we'll catch it"..."Dag-gum-the umpire, that 4th ball was a strike"..."It is hot standing out here, quit messing around and throw strikes". At least that was the way it was for my teammates and me when I was trying to pitch.

Good stuff. Thanks.

Thank you Mr. Ash for some interesting reports and photos. I was down to Fort Myers for the first two home games this spring. I also met Bob Sacamento...a very knowledgeable guy. Next spring I'd like to meet some more TD contributors. Next January I'll have to check TD to see who from the TD contributors will be going and when. My wife enjoys the birds at Sanibel Island , so we went to the Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge some. Yes, that is really the name. It really is an amazing place to visit. Flamingos, pelicans, egrets, ibis, roseate (sp) spoonbills, alligators, bald eagles and others are readily visible. My favorite event at spring training this year took place after Torii Hunter and Michael Cuddyer had been watching Joe Mauer practice hitting baseballs off a tee to right center field. None went over the fence. After Mauer left and the others left, Cuddyer and Hunter hung around the batting cage. Cuddyer said he could hit one off the tee over the RF fence, even though it was to his "opposite field". Hunter said no you can't. They agreed Cuddyer could have 10 swings with no warm-ups. Cuddyer did it on the10th swing. Hunter went crazy. I asked Hunter what the bet was and he said: "An undisclosed amount...having to do with a cart fee". There is nothing I've ever experienced that compares to spring training at the Twins' training facility at Fort Myers in early March. Last year was my first time, this year was my second. I plan on going every year as long as I can.

Maybe our Rule 5 pick, Haley, can play 1B when Mauer is DH or needs a rest.

I was more optimistic about our bullpen 28 days ago.

Having read all these predictions and assuming we are all Twins' fans, I am going to vote/hope that DaveW's dreams come true and Dozier hits 52 home runs...because ... "When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you." Go Dozier and go Twins.

Nick, Excellent article. Great explanation of some of the changes which are here and the fact that what we have seen from Falvey so far, is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many more changes coming in Twins-Land. These are exciting times to be a Twins' fan. I liked Falvey's quote about the race to try to figure out who can do it best. "That's the competition." Go Twins!

What effect, if any, would this demotion have on Berrios' future salary and arbitration, and future contracts down the road?

Since I pitched in high school (yeah, I know, "big deal") I have always been interested in the selection of pitches. Think about it. A good pitcher can pitch up, down, middle of the plate, fast, slow, slower, inside , outside, rising, sinking, moving horizontally right or left. Just using these 12 variables, how many different pitches can a major league pitcher throw? Some math major reading this may answer this question for us by saying it is 12 squared, which is 144. However I say the answer is infinitesimal. I know control factors in, but I'm just referring to pitch selection. The last 4-5 years I have been very interested in pitch selection. I assume the catchers have been calling the pitches (I don't know that, I'm just assuming that). I have been disappointed with he lack of variety of consecutive pitches being called by the Twins catchers. Pitching is largely deception. The pitcher tries to fool the batter. A lack of variety of pitches makes it easier for the batter to know what is coming, and therefore conceivably easier for the batter to hit what he knows is coming out of the pitcher's hand. I told Jason Castro in spring training several weeks ago that I was glad to have a Stanford University graduate calling the pitches for the Twins. I am interested to see if the variety between pitches changes and if that helps.