jimbo92107

Good topic to chew on, the Twins outfield in April 2016 may not include Buxton or Kepler, so who will be running around out there? My first guess is that Rosario is a given in LF, Danny Santana could be CF, with possibly Arcia in RF, platooning with somebody. Plouffe? Sano? Everybody?? This also brings up the lesser-known side of Miguel Sano, which is that the big kid is actually pretty fast, and his arm may well be as strong in the outfield as Hicks's. We see Sano's size and assume he's a lumbering giant like Kennys Vargas, but he's not. He's big, strong and athletic, a lot like a good NFL tight end. A guy like that can be a very good outfielder, and with that gun for an arm, some folks might regret going for second on him. If Sano conditions himself like a pro athlete, he should have less trouble with his Achilles. I'll admit I may never enjoy watching him dive for a fly ball, but Sano could be just fine in right field.

When Hicks came up after his AAA demotion, he had changed two very important things. First, he had developed a better butt-turn and kick to load up his lower half. Second, he had developed a higher, more extreme bat twirl that I compared to the Cuban style. Those two changes allowed Hicks to unload with much more force through the hitting zone, plus they allowed him to check his swing better. Suddenly, he looked great. Unfortunately, Hicks started drifting away from those changes later in the season, so his bat cooled off. My fear is that he will quickly re-learn that kick and that bat twirl with the Yankees, then start hitting like freakin' Dave Winfield for the next ten years...for the freakin' Yankees. On the other hand, it looks like we got a decent backup catcher.

The Yankees think they can develop Aaron Hicks into another Bernie Williams, and I'm not at all sure it won't happen. I'm sad to see Hick go, but he is more likely to blossom as a hitter in New York than here, much as David Ortiz needed to go to Boston to become Big Papi.

Sano in the outfield, God please no...

No big deal for an ace in 2016. The first big "all in" year could be 2017. If Berrios and Duffey pan out, then Ryan might go for a Cueto-type deal.

Loved the improvements in the 2015 Twins, but they're a long way from the overall quality of both teams I saw in the World Series. Still, a couple of years could make a huge difference, with power arms like Burdi and Reed coming up, more good starters on the way, and with Stewart and Garver as possible good catchers. Somewhere between 2017 and 2020, the Twins might be ready to make a serious run. They might even make the playoffs in 2016, but they can't take the Royals without a much better pitching staff.

Actually, there is a very important difference in the two swings. In Santana's 2014 swing, his hip pop comes just before the bat snaps through the zone, propelling the bat. In the 2015 version, his hip pop is simultaneous to the bat coming through the zone. If that swing is representative, then Santana's kinetic chain has been broken, removing power from the swing, which must surf a wave of force created from low to high. No rhythm in the 2015 swing. Also, his belt buckle (hip) isn't turned far enough, so his torso isn't transferring power to his swing. Belt buckle must turn all the way towards the pitcher, or slightly past that, to generate whip.

There are two main ways for ABW to improve: 1) Pitch selection, and 2) Contact percentage. With practice, preparation and good coaching, Walker has a chance to improve both those aspects of his hitting. He can study the tendencies of each starting pitcher, which will give him a better idea where to expect pitches in certain situations. He can work on shortening his swing and on hitting junk, like whiffle balls thrown from ten feet. He can refine his pitch recognition. add a flatter "contact" swing for 2-strike situations. I see no reason why further training can't make Walker a better hitter. I assume the man can learn. I'm sure he wants to. I would definitely keep him around. Heck, I'd hire Chili Davis to coach him. Davis is the closest comp I've seen to Walker.

The league is really blowing it by moving its games all over the place, plus cutting off the mlb.com deal at the end of the regular season. Basically, my enthusiasm for the playoffs died the moment the Twins were out of it, and I'm not about to cough up further ransom for mlb's playoff package or blow huge money on basic crap cable, which still won't cover all the games. Baseball has to get a brain about this. Alienating 95 percent of its fan base is no way to run an industry. They were making plenty of money when they had all their playoff games on broadcast TV with expensive commercials. Now, fans like me are losing interest. I like baseball, but I'm not going to dedicate my time or money to hunting for it.

I have a feeling the Twins will look at Polanco as a utility man early in his pro career. He can sub for 2B to give Dozier a day off, then SS to give Esco a break, then slide in at 3B for a day or two if Sano needs to DH. Dozier doesn't go anywhere for at least one more season while the team evaluates possible replacements. If Polanco shines in the middle infield, then maybe a trade happens next season for Dozier. Otherwise, no. Plouffe is trickier. He's now a very solid third baseman with 20+ homer pop. A lot of teams wouldn't mind having that, but they won't trade a star catcher for it. Meanwhile they can still move him around to 1B when Mauer needs a day off, even to a corner OF if needed, and the guy really is a steady fielder now. Anybody ready to say that about Miguel Sano and his gimpy hammy? I'd still like to see how Stuart Turner looks in spring training. He's supposed to have a good arm down to second. If he can hit a lick, there may not be much need for a second catcher.

The 2016 Twins will have a chance to shock the baseball world, but they can do it only if they put Hughes, Milone and Nolasco in the bullpen, while starting Santana, Berrios, Gibson, May, and Duffey. This combination gives the team an optimal blend of EIGHT starting pitchers, three of whom can pull major innings as middle relievers while providing spot starts as needed. Santana, Gibson and Duffey look ready to post nearly 200 innings apiece, while Berrios and May could approach that same level of durability. The key to this strategy is recognizing where Phil Hughes is in his career. As a starter he has lost the zip on his heater that allowed him to dominate for more than a few innings. However, in the pen Hughes could see the proverbial 2 to 3mph uptick in fastball velocity, which would reestablish his dominance. More, Hughes has the mentality and stuff to be an effective closer, a position that is now in serious doubt as Glenn Perkins declines physically. Much of this depends who emerges from the minors next spring as viable relievers. Most of the current pen is underwhelming at best. I'd like to see a few flame throwers like Burdy, Reed and Meyer emerge, but of course they have to prove they have decent command. JR Graham needs to go to AAA to work on being a starter. Point is, the Twins are in a position to have a remarkably effective heart of a relief staff if they use their expensive free agents where they can best help the team win over a 162-game season.

In the last 35 games of the season I noticed that Hicks was drifting away from the mechanics that gave him such a hot May. He started losing some of the jolt in his kick, and his bat cock started going away. I recommend getting back that jolty kick, cock that bat tighter, then in the batting cage play Rage Against the Machine's "Bulls on Parade" at max volume. If that doesn't make you want to smash some balls, nothing will! Rally round the family... with a pocket full of shells!

Okay, this is a little complicated, so bear with me: Joe Mauer to the Dallas Cowboys for La'el Collins, the un-drafted but highly talented offensive lineman. This may sound crazy, but Dallas could actually use Mauer as a third string or developmental QB. Mauer was the most highly sought recruit out of HS, and he's still got a great arm. He's such a great athlete with such versatility, he could probably make it work. Plus, they could lend him to the Astros or Rangers for baseball stuff. Meanwhile, La'el Collins hasn't even been activated for Dallas, a team with a plethora of big, talented O-linemen. Another big, talented guy, the Twins could try him out, and if he can't hit, maybe see if the Vikings can use him somewhere. It's not really a team-to-team trade so much as a state-to-state trade, for the good of both. ;-)

Imagine the angst next spring training when Joe's hitting .265 while Keper bats .350 and Sano bangs 5 homers.

There it is, I was wondering how to describe the difference. Capps is clearly pushing off a second time, where Cederoth is executing more of a delayed release. There's no secondary thrust in Cederoth's delivery, so it's not really cheating. Capps on the other hand...no, that's a hop and a drive. Cheating.

Address pitching first if you want to win more games next season. Without looking for more rentals, the Twins right now have five guys that could close in on 200 innings apiece next year: Santana, Gibson, Duffey, May, and Berrios. Yeah, Berrios, not Hughes. It's sad, but Phil Hughes lost the zip on his heater, and he's just not starter material without it. The good news is, if they limit his innings as a middle reliever/spot starter, Hughes may be able to dominate again, for short stretches. In a unique coincidence, the same appears to be true for Ricky Nolasco and Mike Pelfrey. None of them can be relied upon to go 200 innings anymore, but all of them could provide excellent service as middle relievers and spot starters. That includes Tommy Milone, too. A short walk through would look like this. Santana goes 7, leaves a runner on in the 8th. Hughes steps in, stops the bleeding. Jepsen closes. Gibson goes 6, gives up 2. Nolasco does 2 innings, Jepsen closes. Duffey goes 7 shutout, Pelfrey pitches one, Jepsen. May goes 8 giving up 2. Jepsen. Berrios falters after 3, Milone takes over. Pelfrey for one. Jepsen. The team could do that all season long, with spot starts for Hughes, and maybe one or two for Milone. Even Nolasco could get a spot start if he's feeling really good. Hughes's fastball might uptick a couple mph, making him dominant again. Might even try Hughes at closer; he's got a closer's mentality already. Nolasco can hurt his ankle again, or not. On top of that bunch, you have Perkins and Jepsen platooning as closer/setup, and bring up a couple fire ballers like Burdi and Meyer to try their hand. The Twins won more games this year, but their starting rotation was a mess of injuries and inconsistency, other than Gibson. If Tyler Duffey hadn't shocked us with his cosmic curve ball experience, the old W/L record would not have been relatively impressive. I know how things stand with this organization, so no need to tell me I'm being "unrealistic." The starting ro will be Hughes, Santana, Gibson, maybe Duffey, maybe May, and then MAYBE they bring up Berrios after he starts off AAA with seven shutouts. Milone, I have no idea. All I'm saying is that they're already paying these guys whether they start, relieve, or sweep up the stadium after the game. The money is already spent, so now you piece together a way to get more wins, not stroke expensive egos.

What a nice write-up, thanks Bob. So many talented young guys coming up through the system. Especially fun to read about Gonsalves and Gordon. And what are they going to do with that big Walker guy. Maybe if he'd just stop hitting the ball so darn hard..! ;-)

Congratulations to Kyle Gibson on a good season. Should be interesting where he winds up among Twins pitchers in 2016. It's quite possible he will have the 3rd or 4th best record next season, with Santana coming back for a full year, Duffey looking much better than expected, Berrios coming up, and Trevor May back in the starting rotation. Will there be room for Phil Hughes? I still think the best option for the Twins would be to put all the young studs in the rotation, all the expensive vets in the pen, then swap them around as needed. A bullpen with Hughes, Nolasco, Milone and Pelfrey could provide 3 to 4 innings a game for a whole season, and with such strong backup, the young arms could afford to attack with little fear. Instead of worrying about a threadbare pitching staff, they'd be brimming with talent and endurance. I'd like that a lot better than what I saw this season.

Hicks, May, Escobar. All three improved their value greatly. Hicks was the happiest surprise. Next he needs to put more jolt in his kick, get that bat waggle whippier, and let the rear knee brush past the front knee on weight shift. Bang.

Gardenhire to the Nats... Interesting destination. Managing some of those egos might be tough. His biggest problem might be the local press, which might regard him as a small-market guy that can't handle a national stage. If he loses a few games, will they treat him like a Midwestern bumpkin? If they win a few, will he suddenly be the homeland hero with simple, homespun wisdom? In Washington the baloney wagon is always groaning from the load.

I agree with Loosey, Twins Daily does strike a good balance of regular stories and free-wheeling participation of anybody that wants to have a say. Many thanks to glunn, h2Oface and all the other moderators for running a fun and informative site. It really did make this Twins season more enjoyable!

Ventura reminds me a little of Zach Grienke, when he was mid-20's.

That's what happens when you feel the pressure, rather than applying it. Blown pitches, blown plays. Good news for Royals fans. This team looks very good. Might have a chance against the Jays, but I kinda doubt it.

I will say it's nice not to have Dick Bremmer's constant excuses for the crappy bull pen and poor play. Let 'er rip, Royals fanboy!

WTF, Rosario? Throwing it in the general direction of the dugout?? Pick a target! Well, at least we aren't being tortured by hope. Once again we see why the Twins should use all their expensive veteran pitchers other than Santana to stock the bull pen for next season.