jimbo92107

I am shocked, SHOCKED I say, that none of you guys thought of this yet: DR. HU!! When will the good Doctor arrive in Minnesota to save the Twins, nay, the world? Will he show us his otherworldly "sonic screwball?" The palm-ball will do for now.

If we stick to the two players I mentioned, the Hicks comparison doesn't hold up. Buxton especially has shown no signs of having large, puzzling gaps in his game, like Hicks. Meyer has alternately dominated and lost control of his stuff in AAA, but there's nothing fundamentally wrong with his delivery, or his arm already would have fallen off. I just watched Hicks, Rosario and Hunter dominate the outfield today, and it was a pleasure. Imagine what that outfield would look like with Buxton's speed in the middle, Hicks in right and Rosario in left. Every now and then you see a major league outfield that's so fast and skilled, you wonder if a baseball with touch the ground out there. Rosario did a great job chasing down a ball near the left field wall today, and he also almost gunned down Evan Longoria on what looked like an easy double. The ball got there about one tenth of a second after Longoria did, and he looked very surprised that it was so close. With Rosie, Hicksie and Buxie manning the field, great catches and throws would become everyday highlights. The pitching staff will save hits and runs. Remember the great diving catch a week ago by fourth outfielder Shane Robinson? Hicks gets to that ball without diving, as he did today. Buxton is even faster than Hicks, and has an even stronger arm! I'll grant that maybe it's still a bit too early for Meyer. Maybe he's not ready to be the "ace" of the pitching staff. I'd still like to see him in the bullpen, getting a few "low leverage" chances here and there, even if it's just a "cup of coffee" as they're calling it for Rosario. Maybe it will do Meyer some good to see that not every hitter at the MLB level is Mike Trout or Adrian Gonzalez. Striking out a few guys in the bigs might help him throw more strikes in AAA. Eddie Rosario clearly is having a great time with his little cuppa joe in the bigs. To me it looks like he's a little too timid at the plate, but then I like it when they swing really hard, just in case a baseball gets in the way. Byron Buxton may have some early jitters too, but I think once you call him up, he never goes down again. He's baseball's #1 prospect because baseball experts think he's on par with young superstars like Harper and Trout. The real question is, would bringing up Buxton and Meyer increase the chances of this Twins team making the playoffs? I think it would.

When I first saw Hicks come up, a couple things struck me. First, clearly he was an athlete of superior quality, which is the reason the Twins drafted him. He was big, fast, strong, coordinated, and apparently highly intelligent. Second, he seemed clueless at the plate. He would plant himself there like he was getting ready to fend off a Sumo wrestler, then flail at outside pitches while sticking his butt out like "The French Mistake" from Mel Brooks's "Blazing Saddles." It was mystifying to me how a guy so otherwise talented could look so passive and defensive at the plate. Didn't anybody show him video of Babe Ruth? Dave Winfield? He should be waving the bat and launching himself like those guys! Finally, we're seeing just a bit of this man's power potential. With his physical attributes, he should be able to launch home runs almost like Giancarlo Stanton. He should be making people cringe in fear in the third deck in center, and putting dents in outfield fences. Hitting isn't about trying to avoid striking out; it's about trying to launch little white baseballs into low earth orbit. I don't watch baseball to see Aaron Hicks work a count to a walk or a slap single. Guys like Aaron Hicks should be making pitchers dive out of the way and fielders look frozen in place. Look at the game's most entertaining player, Bryce Harper. He spends hours practicing not just in a cage, but with a weighted bat, learning how to swing that thing with frightening force. I want Aaron Hicks to swing the bat like Bryce Harper, but harder.

The last four years watching the Minnesota Twins has been a real beating. The only thing keeping me and a lot of other fans from bugging out completely was that we knew there was some help coming via the draft, and that knowledge came from websites like Twins Daily. We have now seen the 2015 version of this team, and it's getting better. Still, this ain't a playoff team, that's pretty clear. The pitching staff is still average at best, the position players are still largely punchless, and the defense is still below par. My question is this: Why stick with this group when we know they won't make the playoffs? Clearly they're not ready to challenge Detroit or KC, a couple teams that themselves don't look Series bound. At what point should this team figure that it's better to bring up guys like Meyer and Buxton, let them get their feet wet at this level, rather than keep them down on the farm in favor of a team that's going nowhere? The Twins brought Aaron Hicks up after tearing up AAA pitching for awhile. He looks much better at the plate, loading up and firing out. Buxton has never had trouble getting aggressive at the plate, or anywhere else. Anything he needs to polish, he can talk to Bruno. Meyer won't get better coaching in AAA than he'll get here, and he needs to see the guys he's got to beat. How much longer?

I've liked Duensing since they drafted him, but with the Twins I think his days are numbered. It's not even that he's so terrible or irredeemable; it's more that they now have better options in AAA and AA. Guys that are younger, cheaper, and have really live arms. Start with Theilbar and Oliveros, if you want good regular relievers. Or you could bring up Alex Meyer, and let him get some innings in as a reliever, just for exposure. If I ask myself honestly who I'd prefer right now to get a few outs, it would be Thielbar. Longer term, Oliveros. Adventure time: Meyer.

This was the first time I think I've seen Nolasco pitch when he's nearly 100 percent healthy. He peppers the strike zone from different angles with cutters and two-seamers, then mixes in a big 12 to 6 bender of a curve that makes batters look foolish... when he keeps it down. I could see that pitch go a long way if he leaves one up. Maybe that's why Detroit's boys were screwing themselves into the ground trying to hit it. You could hurt your back that way. If Nolasco manages to stay healthy, he could be good. He gets a lot of movement on his heater, and most of the time he seemed to keep Detroit's hitters off balance and guessing. I wouldn't call him an ace, but he could be a solid #2 or 3 starter.

Max Kepler. He's living the German/American dream!

"The era of fixed emplacements is over." General Patton Statistics is doing for baseball what airplanes have done for war. Standing in the same equi-distant positions is ignoring the tendencies of a hitter. If your team wants an edge, this is one way of doing it. Baseball is supposed to be a fascinating game of looking for advantages. The shift is an interesting innovation, and it will be fascinating to see how it works, how teams will try to counter it, and so on. Of course it won't always work. Pull hitters will learn to hit oppo, or bunt, or try to drive it through the shift. It's already happening every game. I love it.

The one guy not mentioned here is AB Walker III. To me he looks like the LF the Twins will put out there with Buxton and Hicks, with Rosario as the fourth outfielder. Arcia may turn into a much better hitter as he matures. He's been showing signs of easing off his homer swing in order to get more RBI's. He can flip his wrists and hit a drive in the oppo gap with ease, which could raise his average and his RISP. However, Arcia in my opinion will never be an average defender. He flinches away from the wall, he takes bad lines to fly balls, lets too many balls fall in front of him, and lacks foot speed. Good arm, tho. The Twins could settle for Arcia in left, but Walker will develop into a better all around ballplayer. Walker's got just as much power as Arcia, but more athleticism, which implies that he'll become a better defender. Arcia at the moment is a better hitter, but I also expect Walker to refine his approach, at least as much as Arcia. Walker also steals bases, which Arcia will never do.

In answer to your question, nuclear fission is the process of splitting the nucleus of a massive atom into two smaller ones, as a byproduct releasing energy. See Einstein, Albert. Oh, you're talking about baseball? As Einstein said, that's more complicated.

I didn't mean "bad" as in hopeless. I'm thinking more like Trevor Plouffe when he first went to 3rd base. "Athletic" is like baseball code for "Doesn't trip over his own feet, but he needs a ton of reps and coaching." Plouffe was like that at 3rd base. Three years later, he's getting close to gold glove level as a fielder. No reason to think "athletic" Walker won't eventually shine as a fielder with thousands of reps and good coaching. That's his advantage over guys like Arcia and Harrison. Walker is big, strong and fast, and his athleticism gives him a higher ceiling as an all around ball player. So if you look at three guys like Walker, Harrison and Arcia and you ask which one has the most value to the team, odds are that Walker has the highest ceiling. His power is already as good as Arcia's, and his fielding should eventually be at least as good as Harrison's. Within a couple years AB Walker might take away Eddie Rosario's spot in the outfield. An outfiield platoon of Buxton, Hicks, Walker and Rosario would be pretty amazing, and terrifying for opposing pitchers.

"He hasn't improved much since his original call up either at the plate or in the field." I disagree on his hitting. Oswaldo Arcia has shown marked progress in toning down his all-or-nothing swing to help generate RBI. Clearly he has listened to Bruno and Molitor on the importance of keeping a rally going. That said, Arcia appears to see himself as a big home run hitter, not as an all-around baseball player. As more prospects near fruition, Arcia is going to be forced out by better rounded players like Rosario, Hicks, Buxton, etc. Arcia can't be a fourth outfielder, he's not good enough with his glove. He can't force out Vargas as a DH, Vargas is a better hitter, a switch hitter, and a decent 1st baseman. The only way Arcia sticks with the Twins is if he starts hitting at an All-Star level, because his other tools are below average, other than his arm. He does have a very good arm. Arcia may eventually develop into an adequate corner outfielder, but the Twins have better fielders coming up within this year. I don't see how he remains with the Twins much longer.

AB Walker is batting 7th?? Nutty for a power hitter to be starved of so many at-bats. Even with frequent K's, Walker should be hitting 3 or 4. How else will we learn his RBI potential? I'm a fan of ABW since this spring, when I saw his batting stance (see Chili Davis) and saw him uncork a couple monster home runs. Good to hear that he's now starting to take the ball to right field. His evolution as a hitter will determine if and when Ryan calls him up. That, and a bit more work on his defense.

It's a lot easier to predict that a guy hitting homers will keep hitting homers. Predicting that Harrison will start hitting homers at some vague point in the future... that sounds like predictions that Joe Mauer would transform into a home run hitter. Hasn't happened. I'd take Walker because it's easier to improve your fielding than to transform into a home run hitter. Harrison sounds like a better defender, but defense can be improved with lots of hard work. Example: Trevor Plouffe, Cuddyer. I will say that a line drive hitter sometimes can start lifting the ball. Examples: Brian Dozier, Kirby Puckett. Still, improving a player's defense is far more likely to succeed than altering his approach at the plate.

Congratulation, Aaron Hicks! Let's hope this time Hicks sticks. I wonder whom the Twins will be demoting?

Are people absolutely sure there's nothing physically wrong with Alex Meyer? I'm beginning to wonder if his shoulder, or something else, is putting a hitch in his git-along. Reason I'm saying this is that I'm trying to therapy my way out of a shoulder problem myself. I had a cortisone shot several days ago, and it's helped a lot, but I still can't follow through quite right hitting tennis balls. I have to assume that throwing fastballs at 95mph and sliders at 90 must require that all your parts are nearly 100 percent healthy. A slight problem in his shoulder could affect Meyer's ability to command his pitches with enough accuracy to avoid a lot of walks. Maybe it's even possible that it doesn't even hurt, but is affecting his motion, just enough to get these negative results. Granted, this is just speculation, but it really does seem odd that a guy with so much talent is unable to command the zone effectively at this point in his development.

The title of this thread is Molitor's Decisions, but really his in-game tactical calls are less important than his ability to get every member of this team to become more mentally engaged in the sport they love. It's not just Schafer or Robinson busting his butt to catch a fly ball, it's guys taking the extra base, stealing when the opponent isn't alert, bunting to beat a shift, defensive shifts, clever pitching, etc. It's like poker. You can just play the odds, but people that love the game get into little psychological nuances. Same thing in baseball. If you look carefully, you can see that most pitchers tip off their intentions either before or during their delivery. Plouffe got a double recently off a nervous relief pitcher. I could see that the guy could not throw a strike anywhere but his low, outside fastball. Plouffe could see that, too. In a crucial count, he guessed fastball low and outside. Pow, double down the right field line. Players like Torii Hunter have been mentally engaged their whole careers, but for others, it's like being reminded why they loved the game in the first place. Molitor has got the whole team playing his brand of opportunistic, heady baseball, and that makes the Twins one of the most entertaining teams in baseball to watch. I don't know if they're going to have a great win-loss record this year, but right now I wouldn't bet against it. A team full of mentally engaged, opportunistic players is very hard to beat. A lot of that is coming from Paul Molitor.

Tommy Milone. But if I'm limited to the two you mentioned, Berrios. Meyer still needs to find his 'eye of the tiger,' or whatever they call it. Inner confidence? Controlled aggression? I'm just hoping that he's not hiding lingering effects of his previous shoulder injury. As far as a future ace, Berrios is my leading candidate too. However, I'm starting to think Trevor May might just develop into one hell of a good pitcher. He seems to look better pretty much every time I see him. Meanwhile, maybe the Twins' luck with hired guns is starting to even out. Pelfrey looks like he's found an effective splitter to finish off batters, if he can nick the corners with his heater. Nolasco is a fighter, but I don't see how he ever really impressed people as an ace. Ervin Santana did look like an ace in spring. Half way through the season, the Twins suddenly will be brimming with starting pitchers. One guy that's really interesting is the new reliever, Aaron Thompson. His delivery looks a lot like Cole Hammels, and his precision is quite good. I wonder if that guy could be stretched out as a starter. As for Meyer, at this point I'd consider bringing him up and letting him do time in the bullpen. Let him gain confidence gradually in low-leverage situations, like they've done with Graham.

Yeah, might as well get rid of.... Oh wait, he almost hit for the cycle. Missed it by a double instead of a triple. Yeah, he's done. /snark

Pitchers must find that chart absolutely terrifying. A .571 average on the low outside corner?? A .500 average middle in?? Not to mention .333 inside low... Jeebus! Plus, it looks like he's just not swinging at pitches out of the zone. Either throw it down the middle, or walk him. Yikes. Get ready for some tape measure home runs to center field by Trevor Plouffe.

So Aaron Hicks hit a double. Question: Did he steal third? I think the reason Hicks is still in AAA is that Molitor is looking for more than batting average. I think Molitor wants to see Hicks get aggressive in every aspect of his game. Let's see Hicks start noticing more opportunities. Does he bunt to beat a shift? Is he stealing on left handed pitchers? Is he shifting in the outfield, and getting a quick break with the bat? Has he been making plays that other players don't see? Aaron Hicks has the brains to do all this stuff. I wanna see the attitude. I want Hicks to be the clever bastard that makes everybody else look dumb and slow.

I met Trevor May at Twins Fest a few years ago. I thought he looked like Joe Mauer's cousin, he was such a big, sturdy guy. As a pitcher May has improved in just about every important aspect of his game. His balance looks better on the mound, and his command has improved vastly. Adding that change-up is huge, and he's also learning to tweak his curve ball. Truthfully, I thought at first that he had kind of a mediocre ceiling, but would be a reliable workhorse in the middle of the rotation. But if Trevor May keeps refining his game and adding to his bag of tricks, this guy could be really, really good. I do have one request of Paul Molitor and the pitching coach: Please, please insist that your pitchers all finish their deliveries ready to field a baseball. It's worth at least one fewer hit per game, and over the course of the season it's worth at least five fewer pitcher injuries. Every pitcher on the staff can knock down their ERA by knocking down a few more line drives, and save themselves some pain, too. Seriously, if you get hit in the ass by a line drive, not only does it hurt like hell, but you can't tell me that you had pinpoint control of that pitch!

There's nothing like better players to make a manager look good. On the other hand, why are the players better? Paul Molitor personally worked with Santana and other minor leaguers to shorten their swings and take better at bats. I'll give Molitor credit for changing the personality of the team. They seem more professional today than they did last year. They seem more like a cohesive unit, and they seem more opportunistic, looking for ways to apply pressure. That's why Aaron Hicks is still down in AAA, he wasn't fully engaged in the game, not looking for ways to beat the other team. Baseball is a game of cat and mouse. If you're not busy stalking your prey, then you become the mouse. That's also why I still like Torii Hunter. He's not the player he once was, but he still understands the importance of taking the extra base, hitting the cutoff man, and coming up with key hits. The team as a whole is doing a better job of that, and it has shown up in their record. So I think Gardenhire would not have won this many games. Gardy wasn't motivating the guys to constantly apply pressure. The team was too passive the last few years. They have a much better attitude now.

Kyle Gibson is a good sinker-baller who has been keeping his pitches nice and low in the zone. Plus, he has added a decent change-up that he's been throwing for strikes, adding to the difficulty of predicting what he's going to throw in crucial situations. The result has been a lot of batters making very bad contact. The lack of strikeouts is no big deal to a sinker-baller. It should mean that his offerings are getting more swings, as batters see his stuff consistently in or near the strike zone. Gibson's mechanics are looking very good these days. He's finishing pretty much on balance, tho I fail to understand how any pitcher makes it out of high school without being taught to finish in position to field. If it was good enough for Koufax and Maddux, every pitcher should look like a shortstop at the end of his pitch, not like a drunk lurching out of a bar.

Torii Hunter was signed as a competent placeholder in LF, and as a team leader in a transitioning clubhouse. He has done both those things quite well. He has also chipped in some key hits, and has shown some of the younger guys what it looks like to take the extra base. Hunter's upbeat attitude and opportunistic style of play hopefully will inspire guys like Santana to stay aggressive and keep looking for ways to apply pressure to the opponent. Plus, he's a damn fine looking man. There, I said it. Don't hate him because he's pretty.