jimbo92107

Buxton: He's already reached his floor. Fast as hell, yet just a so-so base stealer despite his speed. Hasn't learned to lay off the sucker curve off the outside corner, the same pitch that sent young Torii Hunter back to AAA. Yet when he connects with a baseball, it's usually a hard line drive. Defensively, seems like no fly ball is a sure hit, but he needs to stop running into walls and people. Haven't really seen him show off the arm yet. Can he learn how to steal bases? Can he learn to lay off the sucker curve? I'd bet on it. Kepler: Der Kid just keeps getting better at this odd American game. He has already passed his floor as a fourth outfielder. He's starter quality now, if he just gets a chance. No reason to think he won't continue to improve, he appears very coachable. I just wish he'd get rid of that thick Ohio accent. ;-) Gordon: Haven't seen him play, so I have no idea.

If Berrios looks as good in spring training as he did at the end of the AAA season, then he's no worse than the fourth best starter on the MLB team, with nothing but more upside. Seems more a question of when the Twins want to start getting their top prospects experience at the highest level, rather than contract stuff. Does this wave of talent crest two years from now, or three years from now? One more year with a patchwork starting rotation of dubious veterans isn't going to keep this team respectable. The Twins are a multi-year 90 game loser. I lack sufficient sandpaper to scrap that off my tired eyeballs. Please, please bring some of that minor league talent up to the majors. Let the young hotshots play ball!

Polanco makes the team as a utility infielder, then takes over if/when SS or 2B moves on or gets hurt. Right now I'd rather have Polanco's bat in the lineup than Santana's. He's also a better base runner than Santana.

On my team, Duffey, May and Berrios all are starters right out of spring training. But that's just me... ;-) Jimbo's starting ro Santana Gibson Berrios Duffey May Drop the mic, booom.

I just don't see that happening, After his shaky start in Toronto, Tyler Duffey had the most dominant stuff of any Twins starter. If he looks anything like that in spring training, how is Paul Molitor going to send down a guy like that? Nolasco used to be good, but right now Tyler Duffey is a better pitcher, and Duffey isn't coming off injuries. Other things aside, a healthy young guy beats out an older guy who's health is dubious. When you do consider performance, then the job is Duffey's to lose.

I just want to see somebody in the bullpen that can throw a baseball in the upper 90s. Meyer, Burdi, Chargois, whoever. Seems like the Twins minor leagues are brimming with flame throwers. Can't one of them get guys out?

One my favorite Nick Punto plays was an obvious bunt situation. First and third basemen both crept in, and what does Punto do? He bunts it hard, right at the shortstop! Ball gets past the pitcher for an easy single, advances the runner. Punto was always looking for ways to beat the opponent, and his cagey play would sometimes rub off on his teammates. I hope he goes right into coaching. For the Twins.

Now imagine trying not just to regain your high average, but to start picking pitches to pull and drive over the fence in right field. I remember discussions about the difficulty of Mauer announcing his intention to start pulling the ball more to increase his power numbers, and the inevitable reaction of MLB pitchers, which was of course to start working him low outside and low/high inside, but almost never anything he could pull. When you combine Mauer's concussion symptoms with an attempted mechanical modification, it's not too hard to see how Mauer's batting average would bottom out. So far we have every indication that Mauer is going to play this season, so then the question is, will Mauer continue trying to change into a pull power hitter, or will he go back to his career bread and butter approach of being an opposite field wizard? The latter approach seems more likely, at least early on. It won't take long to see if Mauer is still whiffing on pitches he used to flick into left field.

Concussions drove me out of football after the eighth grade, and looking back, I'm glad. Had one in baseball, too, but that was a freak accident - ball thrown from the outfield hit me in the back of the head while I was pitching batting practice. Thing is, I didn't notice long term symptoms back then, unlike a concussion I suffered several years ago when I was hit by a car on my bicycle. That one didn't seem so bad at the time - I never lost consciousness, but I felt weird and disconnected for six months after that. Concussions seem to affect you in different ways depending on age, accumulated damage, etc. It wouldn't surprise me a bit to find out that Joe Mauer "had his bell rung" a few times in football, where he played quarterback up through high school. When I was a kid, defensive players were coached to make sure the QB was knocked down on every play. I'd drop back to pass, get rid of the ball, and then wham, get smashed in the head. The whistle didn't matter much. So, after the third time I'd been knocked unconscious in a couple games, they switched me to wide receiver, and never threw me the ball, which was fine by me! If Mauer went through that kind of rough treatment, it could have accumulated, and then made it worse when he started getting pummeled by baseballs as a catcher. If he suffered from anything like the symptoms I did, then playing pro baseball just sounds crazy to me. What if he catches another ball in the side of the head, or a knee to the head like Morneau? I learned my lesson a long time ago. Stopped playing collision sports and took up tennis. Baseball's not supposed to be much of a collision sport, but we all know better, and baseball players don't wear super-protective helmets. I agree with Doc that if Mauer is still feeling concussion symptoms, he should take a year off. Maybe come back in 2017 if he's symptom free. What he's doing right now is flirting with personal disaster.

Perkins has worn out in the second half of the last two seasons. At his age and with all the energy he puts into his pitches, I wouldn't bet on him having a healthy and productive year as the primary closer. On the other hand, if the Twins manage to split the closer duties between Perk and Jepsen, they might make it through the season with two closers.

I noticed that polarized sunglasses make engine oil on lake water look like rainbows. I hope Joe Mauer has as much fun with glasses as I do.

I agree that the Twins this year appear to have better options at pitcher no matter how they distribute them. I'm a bit more optimistic than you appear to be about Duffey, who I think could be a star. I'm actually less optimistic about Meyer, who is starting to look to me like a complete bust. He fell apart last season as soon as he had a base runner, and that doesn't bode well for a tall guy with control issues. Trevor May on the other hand is I think going to be an innings horse if they make him a starter. May is one of those guys that absorbs lessons and techniques from other guys he watches, and that's a great trait in a young pitcher. His poise on the mound has improved greatly, and that includes his delivery from the set, which is MUCH better than when I first saw him. Obviously Berrios has to prove himself at the major league level, but I have little doubt he can be effective. His status depends on how the veterans look in spring training. If Hughes and/or Nolasco looks bad or lacks velocity, a spot opens up for Berrios.

I like Michael Tonkin, and I think he can be a solid middle reliever for some team, but I don't see how he will survive with so many other high quality arms around and behind him. Pressly, Graham, May, and then a guy like Burdi coming up with blowtorch heat and a wipe out slider... Unless Tonkin develops impeccable control, I don't see where he fits for long. For Arcia, this is make or break spring training. He's got to put it all together right now, or the Twins will cut bait and go with other guys. My excuse for him last year was that his early hip injury kept bothering him all season. No more excuses. No more room. Danny Santana should make this team as a super-U guy, unless Joe Benson starts hitting like a first round draft pick, which is unlikely at this point. Speaking of which, wasn't Santana supposed to learn how to hit by now? I hate to tell Molly, but teaching a guy your hitting style doesn't make him as talented as you.

Watch out for Mister In-Between. Hughes, Nolasco and Milone could provide a back end of the rotation that never sees 94mph on a fastball. The underwhelming power of these guys could brighten the day of hitters looking to break out of slumps. Meanwhile the Twins relegate their second best horse (May) to the pen and their best ace prospect Berrios to AAA to beat up on some more hapless minor leaguers, which is like sending a NASCAR contender to driver's ed. And the guy with the best curve ball on the team to the bullpen. Is any of that supposed to help the team win?? What's especially galling is that when you invert that plan and put Hughes, Nolasco and Milone in the pen, you might actually get the first two to add a few precious mph to their heaters, while keeping them in reserve for spot starts. A starting ro of Santana, Gibson, May, Duffey, Berrios provides lots of chances to go 6 or more innings, plus hotter, more dependable middle relief (and Meyer's big heater) for later in games. All the advantages seem to come by putting your vets in the pen, where their heaters can see a minor resurgence, and you save their arms for later in the season, like a spot start from a daisy fresh Phil Hughes in a playoff game. Meanwhile, if one of the young guns falters, you've still got your veterans to fall back on.

Jesus Delmon, get a grip!

The coaches will know very quickly if Park can field. There's no mistaking the footwork, form and timing of a good fielder. It certainly would be nice to have a power hitting 1B with a good glove.

The sooner we get to Rosaro, Buxton, and Kepler, the better. Meanwhile, I have no objections to Buxton and Kepler starting in AAA, where they can get some finishing school on their hitting. While that's going on, I'd have Santana in CF, and platoon Arcia and everybody else around the outfield. If Arcia starts to hit, great. If not, out he goes around mid season. Not even sure what to do with Park. If he hits in spring training, is that real? If he's catching up to heaters, I'd be tempted to find a spot on the MLB roster. Otherwise a little while in AAA couldn't hurt, while he crams with an English phrase book. Rochester's liable to have a real lumber company in the outfield. Yay!

That's the multi-million dollar question, when and if MLB hitters will learn to "adjust" to Tyler Duffey's curve. My own question is, why didn't they adjust right away? It's not like they've never seen a curve ball before. They've even seen curves from top guys, like Grenke, Hernandez, etc. What I'm seeing with Duffey is something a little different than those guys. They throw great curve balls, but it's still a pitch that works off their dominant fastball, an alternate to mix things up. In contrast, Duffey prefers to throw his curve ball as much as possible. It's his dominant pitch, and he throws his less dominant fastball to keep them from waiting on the curve. The usual logic is truly reversed. The result of this reversal in priorities is a difficult problem for hitters. A pitcher will sometimes "pitch backwards," throwing a curve ball in a fastball situation, etc. But usually that curve ball isn't as tight and well-commanded as Duffey's. Usually it's not the preferred pitch. Most pitchers grow up getting their fun from raring back and heaving smoke past their opponents. Somewhere along the line Duffey learned to enjoy spinning it up there so nasty that the hitter would whiff by a foot. He got really good at spinning it, and now he's a curve ball ace. To me, Duffey's future success depends on improving the command and disguise of his fastballs and his change-up. He has already mastered the curve ball well enough to get most guys out with it. This season a lot more hitters will be sitting back and waiting on the bender, even in fastball situations. That means they'll be late on the heater. It also means they'd screw themselves into the ground if Duffey develops a good change-up. Tyler Duffey is by far the most interesting pitcher on this team.

Tyler Duffey is a curve ball artist. Trust his judgement on how and when to throw it, and don't worry about him hurting his arm. Along with his two- and four-seam heater, and a so-so change, he's got all the pitches he needs. As for his curve being "slightly better than league average," nonsense. Duffey's curve is one of the best in the league. He buckles knees with it, and makes good hitters look clumsy with it. He sets up his fastballs with it when he sees a guy sitting on the curve. If they sit on the heater, he'll throw the curve all day. Even if they do sit on the curve, how many guys last season could actually do something with it? Mostly they grounded out or struck out. As for the starting rotation, I don't think Paul Molitor will let Tyler Duffey escape the major league club as long as that big bender is still bending. He wants that on the mound every five days.

You do realize you just said that Tommy Milone will beat out Jose Berrios for the fifth spot in the Twins rotation out of spring training. In other words, in the opinion of the Twins coaches, they will conclude Tommy Milone will be a better pitcher this season than Jose Berrios. Just making sure you realize you weren't just thinking that, you actually typed it. 8-O

A lefty cutter could be a great pitch, but there's certain guys (like Brian Dozier) that you wouldn't want to throw it to. Guys that can clear their hands quickly could hammer a pitch like that. Of course, you can show a pitch like that down, then toss a change over the outside corner. I especially liked how Gonsalves talks about getting that attitude of beating the hitter. If he can learn to reload and attack with every pitch, he can be one of those bulldog pitchers that we all love.

Exactly. Nunez turns out to be much better off the bench than he is playing regularly. Who knows why, but sometimes when he steps in after a week on the bench, the guy looks like an all-star. However, if you stick him at a position for more than a couple games, he falls apart. As an occasional bench player, Nunez is almost ideal.

It all depends on Oswaldo Arcia. If he comes to spring training healthy and with sharpened skills in right field, then he probably gets one last full shot, which probably keeps Kepler in AAA. When Arcia was healthy, his power swing was hard to ignore. If he is finally ready to act like a pro, he could be pretty good.

Revere followed by Harper could get you a couple runs per game.

Who needs defense with the lumber company the Twins will have? Famous last words...