John Bonnes

Sorry, I didn't see it, so I'll need to hear the details from those who did. I gotta guess that this isn't what Selig had in mind (though it might be the best possible thing for the popularity of the WBC): Holy cow! Are we at the Met? Is this 1974? Canada-Mexico brawl breaks out in WBC game - ESPN

He keeps dominating. Gardenhire keep gushing. And Meyer is determined to make sending him down a tough decision: But the best quote was from Gardy when he was asked how hard it would be to wait for Meyer to eventually join his team. It will be interesting to see where they start Meyer this year. I assumed High A when they acquired him. AA seems to be the prevailing wisdom. But I wonder if they could push him a bit. Minnesota Twins: Pitcher Alex Meyer stars again - TwinCities.com

Did we know this? I don't think we did. Of course, he also says he thought about just taking 2013 off to "let his body heal." I don't have any idea what I would have thought of that. I probably would've liked it better than the Correia signing. Liriano says Twins offered him two-year contract | StarTribune.com

The Strib's Michael Rand publishes a proposal from one of his friends. To make the season shorter, why not play day-night doubleheaders on Saturdays during the summer? He lists other benefits, too. Actually, there are a million ways to use that extra time - a longer All-Star break, or a true WBC tournament or more playoffs. Read the story and give us your thoughts. I'm real intrigued. A modest proposal: MLB doubleheaders every Saturday | StarTribune.com

The Strib's Phil Miller gives an update on the position battles so far. You all know how CF is going, and starting rotation is still too early to tell. But he has some thoughts about the middle infield. We've heard plenty about how happy the Twins are with Dozier's fielding. But that's only half the battle, and Miller point that out.... IN last night's televised game, I was really surprised to see Dozier chasing fastballs at his shoulders. His game MUST be plate discipline. If he doesn't have that, he's in real trouble. As for SS, Florimon looks more confident defensively and has "cut down on his strikeouts." I guess that's positive. I also think it's damning with low expectations, but for some reason everyone in the Twins organization has decided that kool-aid is good enough to drink. Leaders in position battles emerge at halfway mark of Twins camp | StarTribune.com

Deolis Guerra was sent home from the WBC with what his team doctor believed was a torn pectoral muscle. In actuality, it was a blood clot in his shoulder. He was hospitalized and the clot is being dissipated, but he's going to be out for a while... Good luck to Deolis. Pregame: Guerra hospitalized with blood clot in shoulder | StarTribune.com

Wow. That would make an interesting blog post. Or a neat thread.

I can only imagine what Angelo Cataldi (is he healthy again?) and Howard Eskin (is he still allowed on radio waves?) are going to do to that poor guy.

I just compared their minor league careers. For those that are interested: Differences Hunter moved up the ladder quicker, though he stalled out in AA for parts of three years. Hicks repeated Low A. Hunter never showed Hicks speed and stolen base numbers. Hicks is far more patient than Hunter ever was, both in a good way and a bad way. At comparable ages, each year Hicks had roughly 50-100% higher strikeout numbers and 100-200% higher walk numbers. Hunter was never a highly acclaimed national prospect. He only appeared on the BA Top 100 list once, at #79. Similarities Both were very fast CFers, showing a little mix of power and speed, but.... Neither showed much power. Hunter topped out at 10 HR in a year prior to his promotion. About the same overall batting average. Both really achieved significant time in the majors when they turned 23 (or so I presume with Hicks this year.) So achievement-wise in the minors, they are pretty similar, but they seem like they have quite different tool sets to get there. It's also worth noting that Hunter struggled that first year in the majors, getting only 384 AB and hitting just .255 with a 689 OPS. And the next year he spent a lot of time in AAA. It wasn't until his 25-year-old year that he really broke out.

He seems more like a contrarian, which makes this even funnier. Whichever way the stream is flowing, Reusse will be fighting the current. That might seem admirable to some, but I wonder if it's any different than parroting the mob mentality. Either way, you don't really get to choose the side. This one is just more work. (With a payoff of more attention.) It is interesting that this same story was not written in 2010. Because that's the time when you could really tell who the haters that fell into each of these categories were. If, during a 95 win season, and after six postseason appearances in the last decade, you can still grump about one of these four things, you might be a little unhinged. But right now, it's the exact opposite: If, after two 90+ loss seasons, plus being on the verge of another, plus a $30+ million payroll decrease over the last two years, plus an offseason where the biggest free agent signing is almost universally panned, AND finally not looking at a truly competitive team for at least a couple more years....if after all that, you feel the need to look at a fan base that is pessimistic and describe them as "haters"....then you might be the one who is a little unhinged.

I don't think those people who are careful about their evaluations of prospects have some character flaw that indicates they're afraid of being wrong. I see people respecting your optimistic views of Twins minor leaguers. I think it's fair to expect that you to respect others less optimistic evaluations without calling into question their personal happiness.

That is awesome. I love the internet. Welcome to Twins Daily.

In the same game where Hicks was crazy good, Kyle Gibson was crazy bad. Gibson talked about how the only problem was that his fastball command was dismal, and that he had the same problem in the Arizona Fall League. For a guy coming back from elbow problems, this seems like something to keep an eye on. Gibson struggles with command against Phillies | twinsbaseball.com: News

Boy, talk about crummy timing. Just as Morneau leaves for the WBC, Parmelee hurts his groin and will be out will be out for a bit.... This naturally raises the question about who might go if Pamelee can't, though I would think he would be back in plenty of time (though groin injuries can linger). I would assume that would mean Hicks status in CF is cemented (If it hasn't been already) which means either starting Mastroianni (who is also hurt, I think) and having someone like Clete Thomas or Brandon Boggs on the bench OR bringing Joe Benson north for a little while. That seems a tad aggressive for a guy who was totally lost last year. http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_22738886/minnesota-twins-chris-parmelee-out-groin-injury

Off the top of my head, they don't seem real comparable. Hunter wasn't a switch-hitter & was a football guy. Hicks is MUCH less of a free-swinger and a golf guy. What in their minor league careers seems similar ?

So the Rays have done a poor job with their high draft picks? Is that the point? I'm kidding, of course. But look at the Twins lineup from 2002 and the draft pick that was spent on them. If I remember right, it's comparable.

Delmon Young apparently arrived the other day to spring training and met with the Philly media for the first time. City Pages has it in it's glory.

If one is going to compare the Rays and the Twins (which would, frankly, make a great separate thread if anyone wants to start it) it seems like those are the years to compare. Both organizations were coming off years of losing, starting with low payroll, struggling to maintain revenues in crummy domed stadiums. It certainly seems like a better comp than comparing the Rays recent success to the Twins last five years, when they were fighting years of success and a farm system that they had about used up. This could make a great other thread.

Boy, I don't think you develop an out pitch in AAA. Or at least not in a matter of months. If this is what he needs, then he needs to stay in AAA and work through that.

Awesome.

Mike Berardino of the Pi Press writes a profile of Brandon Boggs, which is very complementary. A few things struck me, any of which would make a find topic for this thread. Take it whichever way you want gang.... 1. We've talked a lot about whether the Twins should/would offer Thome the major league deal he's looking for. I hadn't thought about Thome accepting a minor-league deal. The reason Thome wouldn't come to the Twins on a minor league deal: if he's going to accept a minor league deal, why not accept it from a team with a chance for a ring? But the reason he would is because having the manager publicly lobbying for you is almost as good as a major league deal. Does anyone really think he's NOT going to make the Opening Day roster if he has a minor league deal? And four months of playing well positions him for another trade to a contender. 2. You can't help but like Boggs after this profile. I wondered what a more objective take would be, so I did a little research. Here are the Cliff notes: He was drafted out of Georgia Tech and pushed through the minors without much success, getting 223 AB with the Rangers in 2008 as a 25-year-old. He hasn't show THAT much power in the minors, or at least not that much home run power. He has 83 HR in 2629 AB. He's cleared 20 HR in a year once, and that was in A and AA as a 24-year-old The biggest knock against him has been that he strikes out a lot, including 120 times last year. He also walks a lot - 62 times last year. His minor league OBP is .374 and is .381 in AAA, which is outstanding. But his BA is .262 and .268 respectively. They talk in the story about his patience and looking for his pitch. He seems like a "three true outcomes" type of hitter. It might very well be that in the majors, pitcher can hit their spots better, not giving him as good a chance to walk or knock the ball silly. But he's only had 44 plate appearances since that stint with Texas in 2008. I suppose the 30-year-old may have learned a thing or two since then and just needs a chance to show it. I'm certainly not as optimistic about Boggs as I was before the research. But he's an interesting guy to watch, both at Rochester and in the majors. In the story, they compare him to Matt Stairs. That is probably optimistic, but he's an interesting "replacement level player" to gamble on.

I thought this was an interesting take on Berrios from new Pi Press beat reporter Mike Berardino. And I love the sports analogy that Terry Ryan uses. It would be nice to see a Twins pitcher who had the ability to have a little swagger.... Twins prospects Eddie Rosario, J.O. Berrios lead Puerto Rico over Twins (w/ video) - TwinCities.com

Great story.

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