jimbo92107

Let me ask you guys a question that I find interesting. Is Cole De Vries's "stuff" better than Liam Hendriks's? Most of us would agree that Hendriks has better raw stuff. Faster heater, more sweep on his slider, generally throws the ball a couple mph faster. Why is De Vries so much more successful than Hendriks?

Eddie Rosario – Beloit Snappers (123-411 - .299/.347/.499 (.846), with 35 doubles, 4 triples, 13 HR, 74 RBI, 62 R) ...What could he have done with another 120 plate appearances? Another point in Rosario's favor is that his numbers still looked good after returning from the injury to his face. He batted .326 in April, and was batting .325 in June when the injury happened. Back again in August Rosario batted .304, and I'm guessing his slight drop in average was probably more due to rust and a new face shield than being gun shy at the plate. You don't bat over .300 if you're afraid of the ball. Who adopted Rosario around here? I'd be interested to read how the young guy dealt with his injury and his comeback.

The Twins minor league teams are missing something other than their promotion policy. What they should be teaching is an attitude of hammer down, full speed aggressive baseball. I'm talking about pushing the envelop beyond sound limits, then learning how to pull back just enough to win. That means stealing bases a lot more, which means taking chances and at first getting thrown out, a lot. It means every pitcher works more on pick-off moves. It means your players learn more tricks. It means you go up to bat with a swing-first attitude. Yeah, it also means your guys will get struck out and thrown out a lot more, at first. But it's better for a player to learn to tone down aggression than to ramp it up later in their career. Right now the Twins minor league system is producing lots of meticulously coached, very careful, overly passive ball players. Joe Mauer is the perfect example of what they were trying to achieve. Mauer never gets mad, hardly ever swings at pitches outside the zone, is squeaky clean, and sets a standard that is practically impossible for a typical human. He's like a baseball computer out there, and every move he makes is done correctly. Tell you what, I liked A.J. Pierzynski better. He gets dirty, he gets mad, he swears, he swings really hard. Opponents hate him and his fans love him. Thing about A.J. is, he plays the game with emotion. He's aggressive, which is fun to watch. I have no objection to managers like Kelly or Gardenhire as the calm captain, but that doesn't mean you want a team full of calm, calculating players. A guy like Dan Gladden wouldn't be on today's Twins very long, because he gets too emotional, and he's too aggressive. Too much like Dustin Pedroia. I guess players like that don't fit the corporate model of a team owned by bankers.

Unfortunately, the knee injury to Roberts completely blows your comparison. I'm not saying you're wrong about your overall point, but a bad knee will definitely keep a guy from moving up, in any organization.

A big yup on that one. Twins are in yet another transition period, and they're going to need more pitching. Trade Morneau and Span for pitching, play Parmelee and bring up Hicks and Arcia. Even us peanut gallery folk can read the crayon on that wall.

This is the outsized legacy Radke has had on the organization. Radke's mechanics were very sound. The picture in OP's article shows why his elbow never broke down, and his command was impeccable. It is all mechanics. If you put 3 inches and 50 pounds onto Radke's frame, you have Justin Verlander. The delivery is almost identical. Naw, Radke's delivery wasn't that much like Verlander's. Pitching mechanics is difficult to analyze because it's tough to see the exact combination of movements that result in maximum efficiency and minimum arm damage. Radke did have a nice, smooth pitching motion, but he didn't have quite the same kind of leg drive or snap that Verlander has, which actually looks more like a slightly toned down Tim Lincecum. As far as longevity is concerned, my favorite pitcher is Walter Johnson. His high sidearm whip motion put almost no stress on his rotator cuff, elbow or back, while his long control moment, where his palm travelled towards the target, gave him pinpoint control. I honestly don't know why coaches keep teaching overhand or 3/4s overhand as standard form. Too many injuries. Kids should relax and throw like skimming stones. It's aa lot easier on the arm.

I disagree completely. Cole De Vries is an excellent young pitcher. His rise through the minor leagues and now in the majors is a reflection on his mental approach to the game, which has been steadily improving. Obviously, De Vries has no overpowering pitch. So, how is it that he gets guys out? I'd love to say, "simple..." but it ain't simple. It's complex, and sometimes subtle. De Vries is practicing the art of pitching, which means that he looks for ways to keep his team in a game, however he can. This involves a variety of factors. He masks his delivery. Of course, lots of pitchers try to do that, and their success varies. De Vries is very good at it, because his stance on the mound is very consistent, his release point for each pitch is almost identical. Hitting depends a lot on pitch recognition, the earlier, the better. De Vries makes it very difficult to distinguish his curve from his fastball. Not impossible, but difficult. He spots his pitches. Again, lots of pitchers do that, but De Vries is better than average at keeping the ball in the lower third of the zone and pitching to spots. He fields his position. De Vries is excellent at fielding and good at holding runners. His delivery from the stretch is quick to the plate, and he doesn't appear to lose accuracy or velocity from the stretch. It's easy to dismiss a guy like De Vries because he's never going to wow the crowd with high-90's fastballs or jug-handle curves. He just plugs along very carefully, doing all the little things that don't look fancy, but get the job done. At the end of the game, it's just another start where the Twins had a good chance to win. I'm not saying you don't want guys with more impressive stuff, but if you don't want Cole De Vries on your pitching staff, you're being foolish. If nothing else, De Vries should be there to remind the whiz kids that pitching ain't all about how hard you throw the ball or how far you make the ball bend. It's an art, and the little things add up to wins. In fact, the best local example of my point is Liam Hendriks. Better stuff than De Vries, yet he has zero wins so far. Imagine how much better Hendriks would be if he employed the same kind of disciplined, careful approach that De Vries uses. Unfortunately, you can't just turn it on. As De Vries discovered, it takes years to master all the little things.

Irregardless of Washington's handling of its Strasberg situation, I shall continue to monitor Gibson's progress sporadically, with a casual disregard for medical advise and sports expertise. Come spring I shall render an ill-informed opinion that the Twins organization will be wise to ignore.

Florimon is fun to watch, and he is capable of learning. Lots of guys get better with the glove over time as they become more familiar with their home field and such. Meanwhile he covers a huge area, which Twins pitchers appreciate.

Disagree. Trade Span for pitching, keep Revere as lead off. Slap hitter, but he bats .300+, better OPS, excellent base stealer, fast as hell, great glove, and now an adequate, accurate arm. Plus, kids love him. Meanwhile, you've got a bunch of good-looking prospects bubbling up through the minors. In the top tier you've got Hicks, Arcia, Benson, Dinkelman, Ramirez, Morales, Ortiz, Rams, Ray...and of course Buxton and Max Kepler on the E-Twins. Friends, the Twins system is loaded with outfielders. Unless those guys can throw curve balls for strikes, some of them will wind up traded for pitching. All that talent coming up makes Denard Span available for trade. In fact, it practically demands a trade, especially with the Twins going through a penny pinching era.

Parmelee finishing strong makes Justin Morneau available for trade. I don't agree with insulting Morneau, who is a class act. The business of baseball dictates trades and promotions. Twins need to reload with young talent, even if Parm is not another Morneau, it's gotta happen pretty soon.

You want Liriano to throw strikes? Simple: Make him practice with a mud puddle on both sides of the mound. If he does one of his wacky whirly follow throughs, he lands in the mud. If he finishes on balance, he stays clean and dry. Strike three!

I could see some of that, with Escobar as a younger, cheaper Alexi Casilla. I'd deal Span, Willingham and Morneau for pitching talent, bring up Hicks and Arcia, then play Florimon and Dozier at SS and 2B respectively. I'd use Escobar as utility infielder, assuming his bat doesn't heat up. Otherwise, Dozier projects as a better hitter, and his defense at 2B should be sufficient. Thing is, Twins "contact" pitchers need great defense to survive. That means you gotta be great up the middle and have speed in the outfield. With Arcia, Hicks and Revere out there, you'd catch a lot of fly balls, and with Florimon/Escobar, you'd keep a lot of grounders contained. Obviously we'd miss the hitting of the first three guys, but projections always depend on the new guys coming through, at least a little. Can Hicks and Arcia hit, at least a little? If I had to keep one of the three vets, I'd keep Willingham as DH.

Watched Perdomo in the low-leverage blowout situation last night (Tues 9/4) in Chicago. You can see why the Twins are intrigued: His arm motion is a whip style delivery similar to Matt Guerrier, except that Perdomo's arm slot is more 3/4's overhand. Great potential for easy velocity, but Perdomo last night struggled to get his motion synchronized, so his pitches were semi-wild. What puzzles me is why more pitchers and pitching coaches don't break down the few old films of Walter Johnson, the best example ever of the whip-style delivery. Johnson himself was only 6'1", 200 pounds, but he did have very long arms, and the few videos I've seen of him were clearly intended to show how he threw a baseball. I think a lot of people see where WJ got his easy velocity, but they miss where he got his pinpoint accuracy - the long control moment where the palm of his pitching hand traveled towards his target as if it were guided by a long string. Most pitchers seem to concentrate on getting a tight snap, bending their elbow to the max. Johnson actually didn't bend his elbow that much, about 90 degrees, and the palm of his hand during the second stage of the whip was thrusting from in front of and just below his rotator cuff. From this position he could avoid injuring his elbow and his rotator, while guiding the ball to target with a smooth motion. WJ's finish was a lesson in relaxed balance - palm down, elbow slightly bent, back knee next to stride knee indicates linear transfer of weight for a tight upper body rotation over the front leg, also adding to his accuracy. No wonder this guy could spot the ball within inches. There was zero round-house in his stride. As a side-armer, he had natural control of the vertical. With a linear stride, he controlled the horizontal. Bull's eye. In contrast, Perdomo's delivery changes the natural plane of the whip from sidearm to 3/4s overhand, and he bends his elbow farther to add snap. Problem is, when to snap? Unlike WJ's delivery, Perdomo's is extremely timing sensitive. His control moment is compressed to a few inches, where WJ's is about a foot and a half. The longer arrow is naturally more accurate. Funny thing is, Perdomo could alter his motion to more like WJ's in about half an hour. What would take longer is to match WJ's perfect balance. Jump rope? Trampoline? Balance beam? By the way, I was watching Humber get pounded, and he was tipping his pitches. Standing on the mound, he was leaning towards the side of the plate he was going to throw to. Think the Twins hitters noticed?

If Terry Ryan will not call up Slama, I would at least like to know the real reason why. With numbers like his, Slama should be the first reliever to get a shot. Time to find out if his magic works at the major league level. Sign me up. Jim Parker

2012 starting rotation (spring): Scott Diamond, Liam Hendriks, Kyle Gibson, Samuel Deduno, Cole De Vries. The order doesn't really matter, since they're all number 3 to 5 pitchers. Scott Baker might knock off De Vries if Baker's arm doesn't fall off. The one advantage of going with a relatively soft-throwing staff is that they tend to be pitchers, not just throwers, and they may be a little less likely to get some of the injuries that a couple more mph seems to incur. I won't comment on Hendriks or Gibson, but I'm definitely a fan of Diamond, Deduno and De Vries, each of whom is maximizing his potential. Diamond is a good example of an Atlanta Braves style control pitcher, emphasizing great consistency and precision in his delivery. Atlanta gave him up because he didn't have a mid-90's fastball, but his stuff is still good enough to get a ton of batters out, and I expect him to eat a ton of innings for the Twins. Deduno's rise should give hope to all hard-throwing kids with a bit of wildness. His fastball reminds me of a shotgun blast, where any particular pellet could wind up within a three-foot circle in and around the strike zone. His curve ball is truly a thing of beauty, although it's not hard to distinguish from his heater. Great bend on his breaker, very difficult to meet. His changeup is becoming a great out pitch, because the delivery really does look like his fastball. Deduno also is a superlative fielder, and he's got a competitive streak that his teammates clearly enjoy. Is this Rick Anderson's greatest success story? De Vries is one of my favorite pitchers, because frankly, he's got nothing special. That means he wins by being very, very clever. He's got four pitches that he can throw for strikes at any time, and he can sometimes spot his heater to the four corners. Consider this: Without a plus pitch, De Vries shut down the Texas Rangers. How bad can he be? Actually, he can be very bad. But keep in mind that De Vries has gotten better at every level. The one thing all these Twins starters absolutely require is great fielding. That's why Pedro Florimon MUST be the SS, a Casilla level 2B, and the Twins should bring up Hicks and Arcia to cover more ground in the outfield.

Hi, you've been acquired by the Minnesota Twins. Please sign this form to reserve a spot for Tommy John surgery...

Plouffe clearly was favoring his bruised thumb when he returned. The sudden acceleration from his hip turn must put a lot of pressure on that area as both hands whip forward and his right hand must push through and roll over. I see no reason he can't resume his power hitting after his thumb is completely healed over the winter.

Sad to say, but Brian Dozier has not earned his way back. The guy may simply need more experience at the AAA level, where less pressure allows him to get his game firmed up - at 2B. I'd love to see Parmelee again, but that means fewer AB's for Morneau and Mauer. Arcia earned his cup of coffee. Might as well see what Manship and Vasquez can do, too. Slama... Why not, o lord? Pitch him or set him free.

I get the impression that Levi Michael was so banged up coming out of college that it might take a full year to get healthy. That puts him a year behind, but not out of all consideration as a prospect. Next year will be key to Levi Michael's career in baseball. One more unimpressive season and he's officially a draft bust. Still, it's hard to believe that a guy rated as such a good all-around player could suddenly forget how to play baseball.

Morneau would be a great fit for the Red Sox. Consider that his one weakness as a hitter is keeping his head still over the plate. The presence of the Green Monster gives Morneau a chance to collect loads of opposite field RBI doubles. That would persuade him to keep his head over the ball, which in turn would improve his swing for blasting inside pitches into the second deck in left field. This would put his batting average up over .330, with tons of RBI's and home runs. I would love to see Morneau remain a Twin, but if he wants to win a Series, he'll have to do it elsewhere.

How about I say .333, you say .233, and we settle for .290? With 35 doubles, 10 triples, and 15 home runs?

I'll continue to watch on TV for the same reason I coached Little League baseball this year. I don't keep track of the score so much as I watch for signs that players are improving, or at least doing a good job of staying aggressive. Brian Dozier floundered mostly because he lost his mojo, that pro-active attitude that you are always putting pressure on them, not the other way around. His replacement, Pedro Florimon is doing a great job of pressuring the opponent with great fielding, good hitting and speedy base running. I hope to see that from Dozier when he returns...to play 2nd base. I'll call it right now: Pedro Florimon is the Twins SS until his arm falls off. Sam Deduno is a marvelous example of how even a "wild" pitcher can apply pressure and get wins. He absolutely requires great fielding to win, but with Florimon at SS, Casilla/Carroll at 2, and Revere in center, that's enough right there to ensure Deduno will win at least half his games. If Arcia and Hicks are in the outfield next year, the runs they produce and the defense they play will make Sam Deduno a winner most of the time.

After over 100 years of baseball, people still don't teach kids how to pitch without hurting their arms.

Deduno is the most fun to watch of the five starters. His main strength is that he somehow manages to throw about 50 percent strikes, despite his crazy stuff. That means hitters can't depend on him to get a walk, so some of them swing and make bad contact. Problems happen when he walks two or more in one inning, or when he uncorks a (remarkably rare) wild pitch. Also, there are some batters who appear to be able to get Deduno into a bad count, then sit on a pitch with less movement, when he's just trying to get a ball over the plate. Still, with a really good fielding team behind him, Sam Deduno could keep the team in a lot of games. This argues for getting guys like Hicks and Arcia up from the minors, and keeping guys like Florimon and Casilla up the middle.