John Bonnes

Anecdotally, it sounds like Ben has been a little resistant before this year to really work on his bunting. There was lots of talk by the coaching staff in spring training about him working on that - and then there was a lot of talk by the announcers how he was never bunting, and then he lost his starting job, and then he ended up in AAA. It seems he's taking it a lot more seriously now, and even occasionally seeing the value in trying to bunt for a hit. It might also help that he sees Plouffe and Dozier also doing so occasionally.

What encourages me about Revers is he's still just 24. I'm starting to agree with Aaron - Revere just needs to add a little more power. The key is the word "little." Everyone wants to bring up the Kirby comparison for him, but that's not the transformation they need, and that isn't going to happen. He doesn't even need to get as far as Rod Carew power. But with a couple of steps in that direction, just showing that he can hit some deep line drives into some gaps. If he can do tha occasionally, he'll be racking up the extra-base hits in no time. That's what is happening this year, I believe. It remains to be seen if he can continue to do so or not. I sure hope so.

The Voice of Reason, some friends and I will be in Pitt on Wed and Thurs, probably catching the Wed game. Then we'll be in Cincy on Friday, but probably catching the Saturday game. I'd be up for a meetup before one of those game, though Cincy might work better as I don't know how early we'll get in on Wednesday.

Before I throw my submission out there, just a quick note about these submissions. We're treading on new ground. I'd feel a lot more comfortable about it if we can keep things somewhat respectful while still having a little fun. ~~~~ Was there any dignity left from his original motives? It didn't feel like it. The impulse to stick up for his bullied classmates had seemed so right months ago, but now he was the default target, and the original victims were only too happy to fade into the background. Even now, he didn't feel safe. Mike had tracked him down on his walk home from school before, though it was rare. But his senses were on high alert, especially as he walked past the neighborhood shops, where Mike and his gang would occasionally hang out. It was those heightened senses that noticed that the tiny store, the one with the nic-nacs, had something new in the window: a weathered baseball card. Of Jim Thome? Trevor's hero stared back at him through the window. It was a card Trevor had never seen before. Why wasn't there a price on it, like there was on every other item in the window? He had never entered the darkened store before - snow babies and scenic railroad houses didn't appeal much to a 12-year-old boy. It's smell reminded him of an old, weathered book. So did the bearded man behind the counter. "Excuse me. How much is the Jim Thome card in the window?" "You like Thome? His power?", replied the wizardly figure. "He's my favorite player. He's supposed to be a great guy, too. His teammates all love him." "And that's important to you? To help a team?", said the man as he moved from the counter to the window. "Sure. Isn't it to everyone?" The old man smiled. "No, not everyone." He reached and grabbed the card out of the window. "I'll tell you what. You can take the card, but not to keep in an album. It must stay in your back pocket, and when you need to help a team, whisper his name and see if you end up with a portion of the power that Thome can wield." "Umm. OK?" replied Trevor, examining the card, while still keeping an eye on the crazy old man. "Thanks." He placed the card in his back pocket. There was a very long pause. "Um, ok. Well, thanks a lot," added Trevor, high-tailing it out of the creepy shop. From behind he heard "Remember - ONLY to help the team. Any team."

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?647-Jim-Thome-Moments

It was the end of the 2002 season. Jim Thome was finally a free agent after years of torturing the Twins. (And particularly, torturing Rick Reed. Good lord, did Big Jim take it to Reed. Thome hit more home runs (9) off of Reed than any other pitcher, even though he only had 27 at-bats against him. Think about that. He hit .333 JUST IN HOME RUNS against Rick Reed. Lordy.) Anyway, Thome was a free agent. As a blogger who is asked these sort of things all the time, I must have received the question "Will the Twins sign Jim Thome?" roughly a dozen times per week. Never mind that the Twins had made absolutely zero intimations that they intended to pursue Jim Thome. Or that the Twins had a left-handed DH at the time named David Ortiz. Or that the Twins still had no hint of a stadium. Hell, they had just barely survived contraction. And yet EVERYONE wanted me to tell them the Twins might chase Jim Thome, the biggest free agent on the market. It speaks to how Jim Thome always SEEMED like a fit for the Twins, even when there was no practical way in which he was a fit for the Twins. He publicly heaped praise on how the Twins played the game. He hit the snot out of our ballpark. He looked adorable wearing flannel next to a blue ox. He was a perfect fit, except that he was just too damn good. He signed that year with the Phillies for $85 million dollars. It locked him up for six years…during which time he still managed to end another Twins season with a game winning home run in game 163 for the arch-rival White Sox. Of course. But when the contract ended, the 39-year-old was looking to reestablish his career. Spurned by the White Sox, quarantined from the National League, he finally found his way to the Twins. (By the way, well played Bill Smith.) Not only did his career get taken off of life support, it produced a number of memorable moments: Thome passing Harmon Killebrew on the all-time list, his blast off the flagpole on Labor Day, his 600th home run and best of all…. The home run off Matt Thornton that served as the dagger for the White Sox 2010 season. Hell, I would have raised Thome’s $1.6M salary just to hear Hawk Harrelson be rendered that utterly speechless in disgust. Some treasures cannot be bought. In a golden season for the Twins in so many ways, Thome added his own luster. And the next year, even in a season in decline, he served as a reminder of the dignity of the game. He’ll return to the Twin Cities tomorrow with his old/new team the Philadelphia Philles, giving us one more chance to reminisce about our favorite (and most painful) Thome moments. But don’t feel like you have to wait. That’s what the comments are for….

It was the end of the 2002 season. Jim Thome was finally a free agent after years of torturing the Twins. (And particularly, torturing Rick Reed. Good lord, did Big Jim take it to Reed. Thome hit more home runs (9) off of Reed than any other pitcher, even though he only had 27 at-bats against him. Think about that. He hit .333 JUST IN HOME RUNS against Rick Reed. Lordy.) Anyway, Thome was a free agent. As a blogger who is asked these sort of things all the time, I must have received the question "Will the Twins sign Jim Thome?" roughly a dozen times per week. Never mind that the Twins had made absolutely zero intimations that they intended to pursue Jim Thome. Or that the Twins had a left-handed DH at the time named David Ortiz. Or that the Twins still had no hint of a stadium. Hell, they had just barely survived contraction. And yet EVERYONE wanted me to tell them the Twins might chase Jim Thome, the biggest free agent on the market. It speaks to how Jim Thome always SEEMED like a fit for the Twins, even when there was no practical way in which he was a fit for the Twins. He publicly heaped praise on how the Twins played the game. He hit the snot out of our ballpark. He looked adorable wearing flannel next to a blue ox. He was a perfect fit, except that he was just too damn good. He signed that year with the Phillies for $85 million dollars. It locked him up for six years…during which time he still managed to end another Twins season with a game winning home run in game 163 for the arch-rival White Sox. Of course. But when the contract ended, the 39-year-old was looking to reestablish his career. Spurned by the White Sox, quarantined from the National League, he finally found his way to the Twins. (By the way, well played Bill Smith.) Not only did his career get taken off of life support, it produced a number of memorable moments: Thome passing Harmon Killebrew on the all-time list, his blast off the flagpole on Labor Day, his 600th home run and best of all…. The home run off Matt Thornton that served as the dagger for the White Sox 2010 season. Hell, I would have raised Thome’s $1.6M salary just to hear Hawk Harrelson be rendered that utterly speechless in disgust. Some treasures cannot be bought. In a golden season for the Twins in so many ways, Thome added his own luster. And the next year, even in a season in decline, he served as a reminder of the dignity of the game. He’ll return to the Twin Cities tomorrow with his old/new team the Philadelphia Philles, giving us one more chance to reminisce about our favorite (and most painful) Thome moments. But don’t feel like you have to wait. That’s what the comments are for….

It was the end of the 2002 season. Jim Thome was a free agent after years of torturing the Twins. (And particularly, Rick Reed. Good lord, did Big Jim take it to Rick Reed. Did you know Reed still ranks as the guy that gave up the most home runs (9) to Thome, even though he only had 27 at-bats against him? Think about that. He hit .333 JUST IN HOME RUNS against Rick Reed. Lordy.) Anyway, Thome was a free agent and as a blogger who is asked these sort of things all the time, I must have received the question "Will the Twins sign Jim Thome?" roughly a dozen times per week. Never mind that the Twins had made absolutely zero intimations that they intended to pursue Jim Thome. Or that the Twins had a DH at the time named David Ortiz. Or that the Twins still had no hint of a stadium. Hell, they had just barely survived contraction. And yet EVERYONE wanted me to tell them the Twins might chase Jim Thome. It speaks to how Jim Thome always SEEMED like a fit for the Twins, even when there was no practical way in which he was a fit for the Twins. He signed that year with the Phillies for

It was the end of the 2002 season. Jim Thome was a free agent after years of torturing the Twins. (And particularly, Rick Reed. Good lord, did Big Jim take it to Rick Reed. Did you know Reed still ranks as the guy that gave up the most home runs (9) to Thome, even though he only had 27 at-bats against him? Think about that. He hit .333 JUST IN HOME RUNS against Rick Reed. Lordy.) Anyway, Thome was a free agent and as a blogger who is asked these sort of things all the time, I must have received the question "Will the Twins sign Jim Thome?" roughly a dozen times per week. Never mind that the Twins had made absolutely zero intimations that they intended to pursue Jim Thome. Or that the Twins had a DH at the time named David Ortiz. Or that the Twins still had no hint of a stadium. Hell, they had just barely survived contraction. And yet EVERYONE wanted me to tell them the Twins might chase Jim Thome. It speaks to how Jim Thome always SEEMED like a fit for the Twins, even when there was no practical way in which he was a fit for the Twins. He signed that year with the Phillies for

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?644-Gleeman-the-Geek-Ep-45-Youth-and-Youther

Aaron and John talk about the Twins' youth-led turnaround, Byron Buxton and the power arm-filled draft class, Trevor Plouffe's homer binge, Scott Diamond's ace impression, Chris Parmelee's return from Rochester, Ben Revere's long-term upside, Liam Hendriks' impending re-arrival, the wisdom of re-signing Ryan Doumit, Jason Marquis in pitcher heaven, Brian Dozier's struggles, and the exciting life on Aaron's balcony. Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes

Aaron and John talk about the Twins' youth-led turnaround, Byron Buxton and the power arm-filled draft class, Trevor Plouffe's homer binge, Scott Diamond's ace impression, Chris Parmelee's return from Rochester, Ben Revere's long-term upside, Liam Hendriks' impending re-arrival, the wisdom of re-signing Ryan Doumit, Jason Marquis in pitcher heaven, Brian Dozier's struggles, and the exciting life on Aaron's balcony. Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes

I don't think we're buyer or sellers yet - because nobody is buying or selling yet. When the all-star break comes around, that's about when a decision needs to be made. That's still 27 games away. BUT, one could play some hypothetical games to help serve as a reality check later. Certainly, if the Twins will all 27 and ar 17 games over .500 at the All-Star break, they aren't sellers. So there is some number at which the team - if not becoming a buyer, at least doesn't sell. Where do people think that line should be? For instance, if the Twins go 18-9, are one game under .500 at the ASB and are 3.5 GB of a division leader, I gotta think they aren't sellers. Or do people think they still should be? It is looking more and more like the AL Central will be won with a total of something like 87 wins. And the Twins have a ton of game versus their own division left. Hell, they have 15 games left against the division leader.

Herrmann's rate numbers have rebounded, but he's taking a lot fewer walks than last year (and about the same Ks). I was hoping he would find his way to Rochester this year, but he's not exactly making a strong case for it, is he?

I thought so too. But if that was the case, I'm sure the Twins would rush to put him on the DL. Ha. Ha. I'm killing it today. This team's reluctance to put a star on the DL drives me crazy. Just nuts.

I'm having a little trouble sorting this out. There is NO reason to do this if Parmelee isn't going to be playing every day. Since Mauer has been out, Doumit has been playing C, leaving a spot at DH and in RF. Gardy has been short a player, I think. - ON Monday, that meant moving Willingham to 1B, Plouffe to LF and an IF CAsilla, Carroll and Dozier - ON Tuesday, that meant moving guys around and getting Mastroianni in there. - Ditto Wednesday, except the problem was compounded by resting Span. With Parmelee, assuming Parmelee is going to play everyday, Gardy has a little more flexibility. Parm can only play three places.... RF, DH and 1B. RF - replacing Revere, or maybe Span is a little nicked up and Revere slides there. 1B, DH - He and Morneau can swap back and forth at those spots. I think, ultimately, this means that GArdy doesn't anticipate Butera getting many starts. IF he does, that pushes Doumit to one of the two spots Parmelee has. Of course, Mauer being healthy does, too. Which raises the question, why not just put Mauer on the DL? Ha. I make funny.

He showed enough defensively early that I'm hoping his play lately is an aberration - taking his at-bats into the field with him. But I'm not sure that he wouldn't regain his confidence more quickly if he was in Rochester. I can handle him struggling at the plate, but he has to quit crapping his pants in the field.

Roger, I agree that Ryan is probably not in a hurry to give any of these guys away, least of all Span. He shouldn't be; the purpose of this story is to suggest there should be plenty of demand for him. (My god but the Reds could use Span badly.) And I've debated whether breaking up the top/middle of the lineup is a good idea, because rebuilding that is harder than people think. But Ryan cannot be thinking this team is a starting arm or two away from contention. Pavano and Baker are free agents and neither is certain, or even particularly likely, to be healthy enough to be effective next year. Blackie has been bad. Liriano will be gone. They're already scraping the bottom of the bucket with Cole DeVries and receiving way more than they can count on from Scott Diamond and PJ Walters. Gibson and Wimmers are huge question marks. They are actively resisting moving Swarzak and Duensing to the rotation, probably wisely. There MIGHT be enough options there to piece together 800-900 innings, but not enough talent to contend, at least not next year. Ryan has to see that.

In retrospect, I wish I had left the top prospects off of each team, since they clearly distracted from the story. Listing them was not to suggest I think Span could be traded for them. It was simply a reference to get thoughts going. Thryloss, I almost listed Philly. I didn't because Juan Pierre hasn't turned into a pumpkin yet. It seemed premature. I'm puzzled by the Texas stuff. I wonder if it's driven more by what WE want than what THEY want. Ian Kinsler is their leadoff hitter. Hamilton is their center fielder. The other corner OFs are Cruz and Murphy. And their top priority is a right-handed hitting outfielder. I don't see Span as a great fit for them.

Nice to Revere really drive a bell like that triple. He absolutely cruised into 3B.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?631-Nationals-Should-Not-Be-Lone-Suitor-For-Denard-Span

Last year in Twins Territory, Denard Span was the hot topic as the trade deadline approached, much to Span’s dismay. This year, we’ve read that the Nationals are still interested in Span. They certainly should be, given their stop gap centerfield solution, Rick Ankiel, is hitting just .221. But they likely aren’t going to be alone. Span plays a premier defensive position competently, but more importantly he gets on base as a leadoff hitter. One can bet a few of the below teams will at least be calling at the trade deadline this year. Los Angeles Dodgers The Dodgers have a pretty good centerfielder already, though Matt Kemp is out with a hamstring injury for at least a few weeks. What they don’t have is a leadoff hitter who doesn’t induce nausea. That job was speedster Dee Gordon’s to start the year, but he’s posted a .275 OBP, so they have turned it over to Tony Gwynn Jr. while he fills in for Kemp. Whether or not they need Span depends on whether you think Bobby Abreu, who was dropped by the Angels but has a 900+ OPS for the Dodgers in limited time, will turn back into a pumpkin. If Kemp stays out, Span can fill in for him. If Abreu grows old again, Span can play left field while leading off and Abreu comes off the bench. So stay tuned…. Dodgers Top Prospects per BaseballProspectus.com Zach Lee – RHP – 4 stars Nathan Eovaldi – RHP – 3 stars Allen Webster – RHP – 3 stars Baltimore Orioles Like the Dodgers, the Orioles also have a center fielder having an MVP caliber year. But the Orioles also have big problems at their leadoff spot, with a combined OBP of just .253. Most of that can be blamed on Endy Chavez, though Robert Andino (.304 OBP) has done his share of damage, too. Again, the problem becomes finding a place for Span to play, though that doesn't appear to be a problem this year. A spot just opened up in right field where Nick Markakis was just put on the DL due to wrist surgery. There has also been a spot for a month in left field, where Nolan Reimold has been out with a bulging disk in his neck that has required multiple epidurals. Span could fit in with the Orioles long term there as Reimold is now 28 years old and has bounced between the majors and minors a bit in recent years. Orioles Top Prospects per BaseballProspectus.com Dylan Buncy – RHP – 5 stars Manny Machado – SS – 5 starts Jonathan Schoop – INF – 4 stars Cincinnati Reds The Reds lead the NL Cental with Drew Stubbs, a 27-year-old with a .300 OBP as their center fielder. He now has 1500 major league at-bats and a .249 career batting average. And believe it or not, he’s not the big problem. By the way, you’re warned – CAPS heavy sentence coming up. The big problem is the number .214. CUMATIVELY, that is the ON-BASE PERCENTAGE from the Reds LEAD-OFF hitters. It is as if every person they put atop the lineup becomes Drew Butera. Except that isn’t fair to Butera, whose career OBP is .231. I don’t know what to add to that. I’m a little stunned. How can they not get Joey Votto and Jay Bruce a little help? Let’s get to the prospects…. Reds Top Prospects per BaseballProspectus.com Billy Hamilton – SS – 5 stars Devin Mesoraco – C – 5 stars Zach Cozart – SS – 3 stars (Huh. This is the guy who is leading off for the Reds, so let’s go one more...) Robert Stephenson – RHP – 3 stars