John Bonnes

Five days ago, in his first spring training at-bat, Byung-Ho Park, batting sixth, strode to the plate with the based loaded and two outs. He struck out. Today, Byung-Ho Park, batting sixth, strode to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. He hit a grand slam. That’s called Progress.Progress is that which Twins officials have been wishing for their big international free agent since they signed him: not Success but Progress. They have reliably assured fans that adjustments would need to be made before Park successfully transitioned from Korean baseball to MLB, and those adjustments might not happen quickly; maybe not in spring training. Their scouting of his swing was not that it was Ready For The Show; it was that it was conducive for The Show. It has the raw material that an MLB player needs. Neither the strikeout five days ago nor the grand slam proves anything in that regard, of course. But it’s nice to see an upward trajectory. Indeed, that is the one thing upon which the Twins have been counting. Speaking Of Upward Trajectory The other play that stood out today in the Twins 5-4 road win over the Rays was defensive. In the eighth inning, Rays minor league outfield Johnny Field launched a long drive to the gap in right center field. It looked like it might be a home run, but the Twins right fielder ranged deep into the gap, caught the ball up against the wall, came down, spun around and threw back into the infield to eventually double off the runner at first base. It took me a moment to process this. Once I confirmed that I last had Oswaldo Arcia in right field – it took me another moment to process it. I eventually waited until he and the center fielder (Joe Benson) jogged in together to believe it was truly Arcia. And even that isn’t true. It wasn’t until people applauded Arcia that I convinced myself I hadn’t gotten he and Benson mixed up. (And even then I waited to see if someone else would tweet it first.) What my mind couldn’t grasp was the Arcia would have the range for that catch. Last week, Ryan talked a little about Arcia and what he had seen from him so far in camp. “He spent the entire winter down in our camp,” said Ryan. “He’s in good shape.” He certainly looked it today. Ultimately, Arcia’s shape and his glove aren’t going to determine his future. It’s going to be his bat, and that still hasn’t shown much this spring training – he struck out twice today, once against each handed pitcher. But as Ryan reminded us all “He’s got talent.” Mixing It Up Kyle Gibson threw two innings, and looked like he was willing to throw all of his variants in his first outing. Toward the end of his stint, when he fell behind 3-0, he went with fastballs to even the count but went back to an offspeed pitch (I think his change-up) to get a ground out. He finished the outing with a strikeout looking on another offspeed pitch. It’s Spring Training For Everyone Today’s reminder that It’s Spring Training For Everyone goes to, well, everyone involved with the first run the Twins gave up. It started with an error by Eduardo Escobar to get the lead runner on base. The runner advanced on a wild pitch that was mostly catcher John Ryan Murphy’s fault. The runner advanced to third base on a stolen base that was pitcher Glen Perkins fault; he simply didn’t check the runner at all. And finally the run came home on a sacrifice fly. Stuff I Don’t Get Michael Tonkin pitched the sixth inning today. His first two pitches were 95 mph fastballs - and both were hit hard but ended up being long fly balls. He struck out his final batter on seven pitches. He’ll likely make the team if for no other reason than he has no options left, but it’s hard to see how a reliever with a 95+ mph fastball (his first warm-up pitch was 97) hasn’t already made the team. But of his nine pitches today, six were that fastball and none of them got a swing and a miss. Lightning Lineup Notes Byung-Ho Park started at first base today, the first time he has been in the field.Carlos Quentin played in right field for the first time this spring. He had been at first base or DH. Arcia also played right field for the first time this spring. It was also the first time he has played but hasn’t started.Danny Santana got his first start of the spring in center field. Click here to view the article

If sabremetricians had a guild, I’d be a card carrying member, but I’m far from blind to our weaknesses, and hubris is among them. We like to think we have more insight on the future of players than we do, that our numbers give us insights others lack. And then along comes Eduardo Escobar. Escobar should not be this good. In case you have forgotten, he finished 2015 with the highest OPS on the for anyone with at least 350 AB. Higher than Joe Mauer. Higher than All-Star Brian Dozier. And he did this while playing shortstop.That makes him incredibly valuable. Shortstop is the position of smooth leather and limp bats. The average American League shortstop hit .264 with a 690 OPS. Escobar matched that batting average, but exceeded the OPS by 64 points. If he would have maintained that production for 54 more plate appearances, he would have had the second highest OPS among qualified AL shortstops, just 22 points short of up-and-coming Red Sox superstar Xander Boegarts. Not bad for a guy who started the season as the utility infielder. All of this is a complete surprise. It certainly is to me, who trashed the acquisition of Escobar when I wrote “10 Things I Hate About The Francisco Liriano Trade.” Escobar was reasons #19 though #21. Escobar was a light-hitting, free-swinging, decent-fielding utility player with a lot of versatility. It’s not uncommon for those first three adjectives to gradually improve with age and experience, but the trickiest is the “free-swinging,” It can also have the largest impact. It certainly seems to have with Escobar. Through July 31st last year, Escobar had struck out 53 times, walked just nine times and was posting an underwhelming .241 batting average with a .653 OPS per Baseball Reference. About that time, manager Paul Molitor started relying on him at shortstop. If you ask Escobar about his sudden improvement, he’ll note that. “You play every day, you change, you know?”, says Escobar. “I stayed at one position, too, so that’s why it’s different.” However, his statistics suggest a change in approach, too. Remember that 53/9 K/BB ratio before July 31st? It was 33/19 over the second half of the year. Remember that .653 OPS? It was .874 after August 1st. Was that two month stretch a fluke? On the one hand, a lot of that success was when Escobar was red hot in August (.952 OPS). He cooled a bit in September (.812 OPS). But he wasn’t just getting lucky hits; his BABIP actually dropped in 2015 compared to 2014 as did his batting average. The difference in OPS was the power and the patience. If you press Escobar a bit beyond talking about his increased playing time, he also talks about a change in his approach at the plate. “I worked hard to take more concentration to home plate, see more of my pitches, so I don’t swing at everything”, he continues. “After that, I saw better pitches.” The correlation of patience with increased productivity, along with the fact that Escobar seems to recognize the change, suggests he might be a fundamentally different hitter and that we may have witnessed a transition. That increased plate discipline isn’t as easy as it sounds. It might not even be a conscious adjustment; more of an expression of self-confidence. Twins general manager Terry Ryan has his own theory about that growth. “For me, it’s the old adage: it takes a guy a year or two for a guy to get comfortable before they change clubs. And usually it’s the case. It just happens.“ Whatever the cause, Escobar's free-swinging days might be over. If we see that same approach this year, I suggest he’ll exceed last year’s .754 OPS which already exceeds projections systems like ZIPS, which is projecting a .711 OPS. It's possible, maybe even probable that we're wrong about Escobar. One could argue that we already have been. Click here to view the article

You're right ThejacKMP - it should been six outs. Or "an out in each of the first two innings." Don't know where I got 4 from.

Spring training is made for hope. The sunshine chases away winter’s sobriety, and dreams attach themselves to us, and we in turn attach them to others. “Is this the year of Byron Buxton’s sizzle? Oswaldo Arcia’s controlled aggression? Byung Ho Park’s power?” We look for that breakthrough year before it even starts. We are lightning chasers.Unfortunately, on the sunny fields of the Red Sox’ jetBlue Park yesterday, there was no sign of lightning. Or of storm clouds. Or even of really bad static cling. Three of the Twins players, to whom the highest of hopes are attached, started in the Twins 7-4 victory, but none looked like a magical season was imminent. Byron Buxton made two of the Twins first six outs, both from strikeouts, and one of them was looking. That was reminiscent of his introduction to the majors last year, where he struck out 44 times versus just six walks in his first 129 at-bats. He did manage to leave the game on a better note, getting an RBI on a ground ball single in his third at-bat. The Twins had a small rally going against Boston left-hander Henry Owens in the first inning when Oswaldo Arcia stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. Terry Ryan talked before the game about how hard Arcia worked in the offseason, how he had learned from last year and how he had been “humbled.” Facing one of those nasty southpaws, against whom he has a .231 batting average and a 614 OPS in his career, was a tough test for the first at-bat of a new season. He also struck out, and finished the day 0-3 and leaving six men on base. Finally, it was an inauspicious start for the Twins big free agent signing, Korean slugger Byung Ho Park. He not only went 0-3, but didn’t put a ball in play, striking out three times. He admitted he was a little revved up before the game. “I’ve got to admit, I was a little nervous,” he said after the game. “But I felt good and got the first [game] out of the way.” All of this means absolutely nothing, of course. These are truly the three most meaningless at-bats of the year for these guys. They mean only what one wants them to mean, or what one has attached to them. But the lighting chasers will need to wait another day. That’s all right; we’ve got 194 more games to dream. Phil’s Belt Holder? Phil Hughes started today’s game throwing 19 pitches over two innings and then finishing with 15 more pitches in the bullpen. He was followed by Trevor May for two innings, who everyone insists is competing for a starting pitching spot, despite his performance in the bullpen last year. It’s clear everyone understands the situation: the rotation is crowded and May would instantly become a valuable contributor in the bullpen. For now, he’s on the starting pitching track. Before the game Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said he talked to May about making sure he was “stretched out” to pursue a starter’s role before he came to spring training. May thinks he’ll be pitching every fifth day or so, taking the innings behind Hughes like he did today. Or, as he said, “Holding onto Phil’s belt and walking behind him.” As good-natured as May seemed to be about the situation, he also made it clear he would prefer to start. “It’s what I’ve trained my whole life to do,” said May. “Watching baseball and the playoffs and all that stuff after the season kind of lit a fire a little bit to go up and say ‘I can take the ball in Game One of the series.’ I wanna be the guy that they can hop on the back a little bit and go deep into games and then throw in the pen when they need me later.” But the situation is what it is. “He is a candidate,” agreed Twins Manager Paul Molitor after the game. “[but if we have] six or seven healthy starters and they’re all performing, we’re all going to have to decide how we’re going to prioritize shaping the entire staff, not just the rotation.” To me, that sounds like May is a backup plan, regardless of how he is being prepared. Don’t You Forget About Me Here was the middle of the Twins lineup yesterday. See if you can find the choice that made me raise my eyebrows, especially considering they were facing a left-handed starter. 3. Kennys Vargas – (SH) 4. Miguel Sano – (RH) 5. Oswaldo Arcia – (LH) 6. Byung Ho Park – (RH) Byung Ho Park is projected to be the designated hitter for the MLB club, while Kennys Vargas will likely have a similar role in AAA-Rochester. But Vargas is the one batting 3rd, and Park is batting 6th? It makes sense in that Park is seen as more of a power threat while Vargas is viewed as more of a “pure hitter”. I don’t think it means anything, other than we might not want to forget Kennys Vargas is still in this organization. Speed Thrills In his third at-bat, after two strikeouts, Buxton tried laying a bunt down the third base line. It didn’t work; it eventually rolled just foul. But a couple of things struck me about it. First, it was a great bunt. It nearly stayed fair and even without his blazing speed, most ballplayers could have turned that bunt into a hit. With his speed, it was never in doubt. The only hope was that it would go foul. Second, lord is Buxton’s speed fun to watch. I hope he adds that bunt partly because it can be a weapon, especially against a third baseman like the Red Sox’ Pablo Sandoval. But I mostly hope he adds it because it is so damn fun to watch him turn a dribbler into a TKO. By the time Buxton is one-third of the way down the first base line, everyone knows it’s hopeless. The rest of the play is the world’s fastest victory lap. Today’s reminder that it’s spring training for everyone Newly acquired catcher John Ryan Murphy faced a pop fly in the fourth inning. To track it, he flung off his mask – directly at his own feet. As he stumbled backwards to successfully catch it, he damn near literally stumbled on the mask. It looked like Twins third baseman, Eduardo Nunez, the home plate umpire and the next Red Sox batter all gave him a bit of a hard time about it. For The Lighting Chasers Or maybe we were just looking the wrong way for lightning. One youngster had a hell of a game. 22-year-old Jorge Polanco, who has already had a few very short stints with the major league club, had a home run and a double in his three at-bats, driving in two runs. So long as everyone remains healthy, he’s essentially competing for a utility infielder spot and will play all around the diamond. He started at second base today. Could he get that 13th position player spot? I suspect, unless he gets a chance to play regularly – maybe not as a starting position player but at least someone who they want to sub regularly - the Twins will assign him to Rochester to continue to develop. Still, it’s nice to see him continue to make a good impression. Depth always plays a role in the AL Central. Mid Season Patience And finally, we should mention that Miguel Sano also played even though he was credited with zero at-bats because he walked three times. His patience seems to be in midseason form. Our patience, on the other hand was tested: the much anticipated first play in right field will need to wait because no hits went his direction today. We may not need to wait long. Molitor suggested he might have Sano in tomorrow night’s lineup as well. Click here to view the article

Let's start with the annual reminder: if you regularly read Twins Daily and haven't visited Fort Myers for spring training, you're doing life wrong. For baseball fans, spring training is an all-you-can-buffet after a doctor-enforced diet. Sure, the quality suffers a bit, but baseball is everywhere, and you're likely to find things you had forgotten existed. Hey - is that Kenny Vargas next to the potstickers? Or how about Ryan Pressly next to the mandarin slices? Throw a spoonful of Ryan Sweeney on my plate, wouldja….?Then there are the main courses, where you can really get your fill. The path between the players locker room and the practice fields is lined on both sides by fans every morning. It's for good reason. The players are at their most open, their most generous; it's spring for them, too. And then you walk over to the bleachers for a front row seat while Tom Kelly chatters up classic baseball-ese to a minor leaguer who had drawn his attention. Also, it's 80 degrees and sunny today. It’s 80 degrees and sunny every day. I don't blame you for not getting here yet. It took me far too long to properly soak in a spring training. It might be too late for you to make it this year (though maybe not; you've got a whole month left). But do yourself a favor and make spring training a priority, and the sooner the better as every year it gets a little larger, a little more structured and a little more commercial. But that’s because it’s awesome. The Spring Training Schedule The Grapefruit League's schedule is unbalanced like the MLB schedule, but even more so. Teams tend to play teams in their area of Florida to reduce the bus travel. For the Twins, that means playing 18 of their 33 spring training games versus just three teams: The Orioles, who are about 1.5 hours north along the same (gulf side) coast as Fort Myers.The Pirates, who are just about 15 minutes north of the Orioles.The Red Sox, who are located just down the street in Fort Myers.The Twins will play seven other teams, usually once at home and once on the road. Oddly, they won't get to face many teams in the American League. All the ones they will face are all in the AL East: Toronto twice, the Yankees twice, the Orioles six times, the Rays three times and the Red Sox seven times. There's nothing strategic about this; the other teams just happen to have spring training in Arizona or in the middle or east coast of Florida. So, if you're watching scores and thinking to yourself, "Didn't we just face them?" - yes, yes we did. Watching the Lineups The lineup for this afternoon’s inaugural game versus the Red Sox was released yesterday, and those watching position battles should be thrilled. Byron Buxton (CF), Oswaldo Arcia (LF) and John Ryan Murphy (C ) all made the cut, plus we get our first glimpse of Byung-Ho Park in a game and Miguel Sano in right field. The more casual fan will be more interested in Thursday night’s home opener. Besides kicking off the home season, it will also televised on FSN, so you can expect manager Paul Molitor to be starting a bunch of the anticipated starters. I think you can safely expect too see Kurt Suzuki, Joe Mauer, Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar, Trevor Plouffe & Eddie Rosario in the same spots they'll be on Opening Day. I’m going to try obsessing about lineups and substitutions this spring training quite a bit more than most would deem healthy. But there’s a reason for that. I think you can learn a lot from watching how the manager dishes out playing time and innings. Those opportunities are commodities, and the players know it. Lineups reflect a manager's priorities and often communicate his thoughts more clearly (or earlier) than his words. I guarantee you that players obsess about whether they are given a chance to prove themselves more often or earlier in a game than the guys against whom they're competing. Plus, a lot of factors can go into those decisions. For big games, the veterans are often showcased. But veterans also won’t be asked to play two days in a row early in camp. Meanwhile, guys trying to make the club might play nearly every day. Coaches might want to see a guy early in camp with who they’re unfamiliar. Before anyone is cut, the team will want to feel like they've given them a chance to show what they can do. And of course, pitchers' workloads must be monitored. Road games provide their own issues. There is an invisible hierarchy for which veterans go on the long road trips like the trek across the state to play the Marlins But each road game lineup needs to have five "regulars". Teams are hesitant to make any of their regulars go on back-to-back road trips early. And the team needs to plan ahead for split squad games, when there are 40 roster spots instead of just 25. It’s likely that today’s lineup is as much a result of who Molitor wanted to start on Thursday night as anything else. It’ll be interesting to see if he lets Buxton and Sano play two days in a row this early. If not, I’ll speculate that Thursday’s lineup looks something like this: C – Suzuki 1B – Mauer 2b – Dozier SS – Escobar 3B – Plouffe LF – Rosario CF – Danny Santana? RF – Max Kepler? DH - Byung-Ho Park That's pure speculation and mostly a thought exercise on my part. In any case, I want to start paying attention to who is being granted playing time and when. Let’s track that as we go through this March and see if it tells us anything. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about Miguel Sano being outfield only, Byron Buxton's expectations, Jose Berrios' service time, counting down the Twins' top 10 prospects, barking it up at Northgate Brewery, Jimmy Rollins coming to the AL Central, last call on qualifying offer free agents, getting a good shave with Harrys.com, and helping the Minnesota Corn Growers give away a 20-game Twins season ticket package. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article

Fun. Nice job Nick.

Aaron and John talk about Kurt Suzuki vs. John Ryan Murphy, Ricky Nolasco being the fly in the rotation's ointment, how you can win Twins season tickets thanks to the Minnesota Corn Growers, Miguel Sano's non-weight loss, Aaron's cat obsession with our friends at Iron Door Pub, Baseball Prospectus projections, Brian Duensing going to Kansas City, and tons of mailbag questions from listeners. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article

2/14/16 - Aaron and John talk about Joe Mauer's blurred vision, Delmon Young's ongoing quest to be the worst, Byron Buxton being second again, the good and bad of prospect rankings, getting a clean shave with Harry's, signing up for another season of KFAN, the first Vegas lines, and taking flight at LynLake Brewery. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John preview the Twins Daily Winter Meltdown, featuring Carl Pavano, Meatsauce and 612 Brew at The Pourhouse, and then proceed to meltdown at each other about the Twins starting rotation, and answer Family Feud questions. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article

In a special mid-morning podcast, Aaron and John preview the Twins hitters by debating ZIPS projections, cover the news around Twins arbitration eligible players, cringe at Aaron’s apartment/petri dish, note how Harrys.com is affecting your football commercials, and speculate what Aaron would do for $400,000. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about the most depressing losses in Minnesota sports history, project the Twins' rotation and bullpen, check in on Denard Span and Ben Revere, wonder where Josmil Pinto will wind up, sleep well on Casper mattresses, debate arms versus legs, and answer mailbag questions from listeners. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below.Just click below! Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about the Twins' continued lack of moves, projecting the Opening Day roster, a hangover-causing birthday party, why the Twins can't have an announcer like Jim Petersen, Major League vs. Bull Durham, shaving with the help of Harrys.com, Oswaldo Arcia's remaining window, Aroldis Chapman to the Yankees, New Year's resolutions, and whether Kent Hrbek liked to party. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about Trevor May being bullpen bound, Fernando Abad possibly joining him, all the AL Central teams going for it in 2016, projecting Byung Ho Park from numbers and scouting, when to swear on a podcast, Johnny Cueto's big but reasonable contract with the Giants, eating way too much food at Iron Door Pub, and preparing for New Year's Eve with Harrys.com. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article