jimbo92107

I'm still wondering what's the problem with giving a spot start to Logan Darnell. Is he only to be used from the bullpen? Is it that he's a rookie?

Most impressive to me is Duffey's maturity as a pitcher. He arrived with a fully functional repertoire of pitches, not trying to add mph to his fastball or learning to control his curve. He pitches within himself, commanding the zone with good mechanics. You can see that his catchers love the guy, their delight apparent even as they dig a strikeout curve ball out of the dirt. Improving Duffey's stuff will be a matter of tweaking his change-up and learning not to yank his fastball quite so often. If Duffey threw his change on the same flight path as his dirt ball curve, that could cause nightmares for hitters. How would you like to swing half a foot over the curve, then try to get down for the curve, only to swing half a foot under a change-up? Then you think you've got that figured out, he throws a two-seamer on the corner, and his 91mph heater looks like it's going 96. Literally there's nothing a hitter can anticipate with Duffey. He'll throw the curve on any count, and he's not going to walk you. And he won't just throw the curve for a strike; it's going to be a strike low on a corner. And even his high curve has that crazy bend... Yikes.

Good job by Jepsen. He's looking like a pretty good closer. Perk looked good in the 8th, too.

Manship always had a good curve. Not a great curve, but tight spin, always diving down. He should throw it even more than he just did to the Twins.

Great job by Jeff Manship. Why the Twins didn't bunt with no outs and a runner on 3rd... Can't Sano bunt?

Did I just hear Bruno call Rosario "Steady Eddie?" Good nickname.

Sano wanted a fastball so bad, and Manship knew it.

There are two ways to deal with pressure: Feel it, or apply it. I recommend that the Twins apply pressure to their opponents.

So, what do you call one of the little boxes that they divide the strike zone into? Tribox? Boxie? Boxicle? Trident? Thirdie?

Ervin Santana is an interesting pitcher. He varies his speed, spin and location enough that neither the hitter nor the catcher is sure what's coming next.

No way Max learned English in Texas. Getting rid of that accent is tougher than winning a piss fight with an ornery mule. Tougher than a rawhide pillow. Tougher than a bowl of rocks for breakfast. Tougher than teethin' on a old car tire. Tougher than findin' out yer best gal is a rodeo clown. Tougher than a rubber burrito. Tougher than findin' out that weren't no burrito. From yer best gal, who's a rodeo clown.

Given the glut of good infield prospects, I would consider trading Dozier, but only for a Lucroy level catcher or a top pitching prospect, and not a guy with bad control like Meyer. More like a Kohl Stewart, a guy with a high floor and very high ceiling, in AA. I can see Escobar - Polanco for a couple years, then Gordon - Polanco for the next five. Otherwise stand pat with Escobar - Dozier for a year. I really don't mind having Dozier's defense, power hitting, baseball savvy and team leadership. He has become the combination of Punto and Pedroia that I hoped he'd be.

I vas a liddle dissapoinded zat he hes no Cherman aggzent, but I'll ged ober it. Watched a short interview; sounded like he grew up in Ohio. Velcomen to de mejor liggs, Maximus! Maybe we can get him to watch some Hogan's Heroes, so he can develop a good Colonel Klink... ;-)

Fantastic news for Max Kepler. Well earned. Congrats to Der Kid!

All depends on how the young pitchers look in spring training. If May, Berrios and Duffey all look good, what do you do, stash mlb ready starting talent in AAA or the pen? 2016 should be the year the Twins start coming on strong with the new core players. Why hobble the new team with an aging rotation that's no longer physically able to give you a full season of competitive pitching? Better to have these veterans in the bullpen, where they can fill holes, mentor younger guys and provide spot starts.

It's quite a puzzle, figuring out which of these guys might be able to still go five innings without giving up a 5-run frame. My first guess is May, but in truth, it could be that none of them can do it right now. Closest thing to stretched out is Logan Darnell. He might even have an advantage, if he can avoid first-game jitters.

That's why Pelfrey belongs in the pen now. His splitter / fork ball disappeared. Apparently he lost his feel for it, or batters stopped swinging at it, or both. Without that pitch, Pelfrey is not a good starter. But he can still get a few outs as a middle reliever before they figure out his fastball / slider.

True that Pelfrey could be gone to FA, but what other team would give him serious money as a starter, unless he gets back his fork ball out pitch? Even then, who thinks he'll use it all season, after he stopped using it this year? Pelfrey has a choice at this point in his career: Be an average to bad starter, or a very good middle reliever. Hughes I'm assuming will NOT get back the zip on his heater. At 89-91mph, Hughes does not have the stuff to survive as a starter. Again, in the bullpen that could change. Not having to pace himself might get back a couple mph, and his command is good enough to do relief work even with an average heater. On the other hand, if Hughes shows up next spring with his former 95mph heater, then fine, put him in the rotation. Just remember, he needs that velocity to get guys out. His fastball doesn't move enough to fool guys that way, and even a well-spotted heater won't cut it unless he's got a great secondary, like an amazing change-up, or Duffey's cosmic curve ball experience. Nolasco is a bigger question mark. If he shows up in spring with more physical problems, just cut him. Otherwise, he's another guy that might thrive in the pen, with no worries about pacing himself. Less likely is that he comes back after three years of physical troubles as a reliable starter. Even so, do you trust him more than you'd trust younger, healthier guys like May, Duffey and Berrios? No way. Point is, the Twins may be able to salvage some value from these high-priced veterans, but they can't stop the progression of good starters coming up. Berrios belongs in the majors, and could quickly become a star. Duffey looks like a really good starter. May looked good as a starter, and should again. Gibson has become a good, reliable mid-rotation guy. And Santana will be legal all season! One other factor - At least one good flame throwing reliever should make it up next season. Meyer, Burdi, Chargois, Reed... somebody. Hopefully we'll still have Jepson and Perkins to platoon at closer. It's easier to stock a bull pen than a starting rotation. That's what I think Pelfrey, Hughes and Nolasco should be doing next year.

With his build and his normal two-pitch mix of 2/4 seam fastballs and average slider, Mike Pelfrey could be a very good middle reliever. He keeps his heater low in the zone, and his slider is just good enough to get some strikes if guys sit dead red. Add to that the usual bull pen uptick of 2mph, and you've got a reliable 2-inning guy that throws mid-90's heat. Pelfrey belongs in the pen now.

The downfall of the 2015 Twins team should come as a surprise to nobody: Starting pitching. Nolasco, Santana, Hughes and Pelfrey were the high-priced arms this team bought to provide veteran stability. Instead, they got injured, or simply didn't perform up to expectations. Molitor made lots of adjustments at the beginning of the season, including sending Trevor May to the pen, which worked pretty well but retarded May's progress as a starter. Now it's late in the season, and we see the problem with these bargain basement veteran starters. Hughes is breaking down again, Pelfrey stopped using his fork ball, Nolasco is just coming off the DL, and Santana is just now starting to pitch like he still can. That leaves some big problems in the starting rotation. Twins now have three starters that are unlikely to implode, thus giving up one of the few precious games they can afford to lose. Hughes has lost zip on his heater, so he's getting rocked early and often. Pelfrey's stuff sans fork ball is good for about three innings, then around the second time through the order, BOOM. At this point what I'd like to see is Pelfrey swap spots with May, despite the lateness in the season. Pelf is still good for a couple innings per appearance, and May is strong enough to do maybe four innings before he runs out of gas. Then it's up to Gibson, Duffey and Santana to pitch as many games as possible, with maybe Darnell filling in for a spot start. It won't work, but at least it's a strategy. Next season I want to see a starting rotation of Santana, Gibson, Duffey, May and Berrios, with Hughes, Nolasco and Pelfrey in the pen, available for occasional spot starts.

When I look at Eddie Rosario I see a slightly smaller version of Bryce Harper. Same set of tools, but a little less power at the plate. Not quite as aggressive stealing bases, but similar speed, similar arm strength, similar baseball savvy and self-confidence. Not quite Harper's all-consuming competitive fire, but a will to win stronger than most. He plays to win, every day. Everyday Eddie. Rosario is the new core of this team. He's the pro's pro that will lead by example and with a few simple words, like "Come on guys, let's go kick some ass today." From a guy like Eddie, that's all you need.

Maybe as a player/coach they could sign Torii Hunter to a one year deal. I assume the Twins will promote Max Kepler as the 4th OF in a rotation, then use him to sub at 1st base. That leaves not much playing time for 40 year old Hunter. If the young guys get hot, Torii could spend a lot of time cheering from the bench.

Nice 9th by Perkins. Decent velocity, one random 3-iron dinger by a rookie. I wonder if he'll last through the end of the season. Good game, despite the dramatics by Fein in the 8th. Loved Joe Mauer's homer to right-center. Same area as Rosario's homer.

Let us all raise our virtual flagons of ale to Tyler Duffey, seven innings of 3-hit, shutout baseball versus a good-hitting Angels team. The dream continues!

Double play to end the inning. I was just thinking Duffey should just throw slow curves from now on, with that huge shadow half way between the mound and the plate, no way anybody could follow that bend.