jimbo92107

"...non-zero chance to stay back there..." What the heck is that supposed to mean? He's such a bad defensive catcher that it will take massive physical therapy to get him behind home plate? I'm hoping this statement is attributable to the hardened cynicism of baseball scouts. Otherwise the Twins just drafted maybe a so-so DH somewhere down the line. I googled it. Jeffers is a power hitting catcher. Not much else from video.

Trevor Larnach looks athletic and strong, but a couple small flaws jumped out at me. First, that recoil on his outfield throws must go away. Coaches have to tell him to continue moving towards his target after the throw. Throw the ball, then go pick a fight with the guy that catches the ball. Second, the follow through on his swing is too stiff at the end. He needs to relax his hands and let the bat finish without him stopping it, like Joe Mauer does. That will add a few mph to his hits, and maybe spare him some pulled muscles. Trevor Larnach has the body of a serious young power hitter. Big thighs, rangy build. He'll be a masher for sure.

I hate to say it, but I have to agree that Busenitz is better now than Duffey. Bender seems to have fizzled after a couple good years, while Busenitz has a power arm and good command. In fact, it looks like the Twins are well stocked with good relief pitchers in AAA and AA. Bring 'em up, see what they've got. Then keep the best, and trade the rest.

Any of them break a leg lately? Grasping at straws...

More seriously, I'd go BPA unless there's an unusually good college catcher available at 20. So BPA is most likely, which will probably turn out to be some HS pitcher.

Any kid named Trout in this draft?

True, but Kirilloff has little left to prove in Iowa. I suspect the same might be true in Ft. Myers. If he winds up in Chattanooga by season's end, he could possibly have a cup in September, or be only a year older than Joe was when he hits the bigs sometime in '19.

Alex Kirilloff should be the exception to your selection rule. When a guy is "the best player in the organization this season," he should be put on the Joe Mauer fast track.

Fogo de Chão. I think Esco just got himself a free steak dinner!

Does this mean Griffin Jax will get to stay in the minors uninterrupted? Is he actually free to work his way through the system?

I'm sorry I don't have better news for Joe Mauer, a player I truly admire. He does so many things right, but if a hard, jarring impact brought back his symptoms even without banging his head... Man, that sounds a lot like what Corey Koske went through. Different parts of our bodies heal in different ways. A properly set bone can be stronger after it heals. A cut either heals by itself or can be stitched, and heals. The TJ ligament can be replaced, sewed together, and be stronger than the original. But the brain is like a mass of microcircuits that doesn't regrow quite right after it gets damaged. Instead, it appears to create new connections, but they aren't as good as the originals, more like a weak patch that is less robust than the original tissue. Worse, repeated concussions make the overall situation progressively worse, which Justin Morneau discovered after his concussions as a hockey goalie made him more vulnerable to that collision at second base. One thing we all know is that you don't have to be a pro athlete to have plenty of experience with repeated concussions. I've been knocked unconscious several times going back to my childhood playing football, baseball, wrestling and gymnastics. If I had any idea what was in store later on, I would have avoided all contact sports and joined the friggin chess club. The human brain simply isn't built to survive heavy impacts without suffering permanent damage.

I can personally attest that it is extremely hard to drive with concussion symptoms. Far worse than being totally drunk. You can see, but you lose track of what things are. In my case, I slowed down, veered to the side, then banged into a parked car. I could see the car, but I could not think of what to do to avoid hitting it. Thing is, the previous day I had been knocked flying from my bicycle, but I didn't notice concussion symptoms until the next day. I did not feel "clear headed" for almost a year afterwards. Concussions are horrible, terrifying things. Maybe the worst part is, the damage from concussions does not fully heal, and it tends to accumulate over time. I feel bad for Joe Mauer. His symptoms may fade, but he will be vulnerable to concussion symptoms for the rest of his life.

Bring up Gordon, Wade, Rooker, and Navaretto. Cut Wilson, Grossman, Petit, and Adrianza. Better hitting.

Yup, it was that bad. That's why I concluded he needs around ten more days of working on his form and rhythm to catch up to the rest of the pitching staff. Lynn's off-speed stuff was all over the place, which created walks, which created more pressure on him, which made him throw nothing but fastballs to the guy that hammered one of just two homers in his career with three men on base. The good news is, Lynn clearly has excellent stuff. Once his command comes around, he should be a valuable arm in the middle of the rotation.

Overall, Lance Lynn looked like a pitcher that was a couple weeks behind the others in his spring training preparations. Very shaky command, which comes down to finding his rhythm and pace. He should look a lot better next time out, and then be back to his normal self for his third start. He's got a live arm, good action on his off-speed pitches, and in about ten days he'll have his usual command back. Not worried. This still looks like the most solid starting four I've seen for the Twins in many years, and the bullpen looks pretty well stocked, too.

I like Duke's frisbee curve. Might work better in warmer weather.

"I like this Duke." For five points, name that movie.

Lemme get this straight: Castro on 3rd, 3B "40 feet from the bag," Joe Mauer batting, and he's a very good bunter, but he didn't bunt, and Castro didn't lead off 30 feet. They were conceding a run on a bunt down the line. Twins decided to swing away, fly ball, no runs score. Genius!

Game of inches. Good effort by Buck. This game is anybody's, and the Twins are good against relief pitchers.

Goofy play on that pop up. Gotta make 'em pay for that.

I just noticed something. Starting pitcher is gone, and it's just the 6th inning. I remember last season, that was often good news for the Twins.

Dozier: I'm feeling pretty good about my game. How 'bout you guys?

I will say Lynn has a live arm. Like Phil Hughes from six years ago, but less command.

Didn't take a genius to know a fastball was coming. Even Moran knew it. :-O

It really looks like Buxton forgot everything he learned last season. He just struck out on three pitches that were all out of the zone, low, high, lower. Meat, get a clue!