jimbo92107

"[Max] Cordy walked three batters, hit two more and threw a wild pitch. Wisconsin scored six runs while he was on the mound (four earned) and he recorded just one out." [Twilight Zone continuation] Cordy then felt pain in his elbow, exiting the game to have an emergency MRI. On the way to the hospital, his ambulance was t-boned by a fully loaded gasoline truck, which exploded, killing everybody. See? It could have been worse! Hang in there, Max!!

I was just going to gush about the courage of that young man, living his dream despite the lack of a pitching arm!

Wow, beautiful setup, just as Torii said. High fastball inside, then a curve that broke from the knee to the plate.

Tyler Duffey's curve can make good hitters look awfully bad.

I see Santana, Berrios, and behind them I see several other guys just trying to get by, including Santiago. Maybe he's your #3, but not by much. I'd rather see Tyler Duffey get another shot, now that he's found a better angle to pitch to righties. I group Santiago with Mejia and Gibson as contenders for #4 and #5, if Duffey does just a little better as a starter.

Now that Duffey has figured out how to get a better pitching angle against righties, the Twins should try starting him again. I can't wait for Duffey to show Berrios how he throws his curve...

Santiago watched Sano's throw to first. "I wish I could throw the ball that hard," he was thinking.

I still take Greene. Aim high, gentlemen. Hunter Greene has by far the best name (it's an actual color!), and by far the highest ceiling. And if for some reason he flops as a pitcher, you still have a chance to make him into an outfielder that can hit. I reject the timing argument (Sano to the Yankees? For shame!), and I don't think the Twins will lose their young core players within three years. In fact, it's more likely they will be at their personal peak just about the year Greene comes flying out of Chattenooga. Starting five: Greene, Berrios, Gonsalves, Romero, with Stewart, Mejia and Jorge competing for the fifth spot. Not bad.

Unfortunately, the cupboard is sparse for fresh 4th and 5th starters. As you mentioned, Mejia is not yet dominating, Gibson needs time, and other guys in AAA are either non-prospects (Slegers) or retreads. The real problem looks like injuries. The Twins appear to be hit by a lot of minor issues landing their highest pitching prospects on the DL. Chargois and Reed are two of the top guys in Rochester...DL. Same time, Stewart, Jay, Gonsalves and Jones all are injured in AA. This does still leave two starters that might be okay in the 5th spot: Slegers and Felix Jorge. Of the two, Jorge is on the 40, but it can't be too tough to figure out a guy to drop for Slegers. Thing I like about Jorge is that he has always been a stingy control pitcher, very consistent, and he doesn't seem to mind pitching deep into games. Slegers is hot, and he's been doing it against better competition. I could go either way, or both.

What a good article. Everything made sense. Hey, what's this guy doing around here??

If people are wondering what's the difference between last year's Berrios and this year's edition, it looks like he has changed a few things. First, it looks like he has shortened his stride to let his pitches get a better down plane. Second, his mechanics look more consistent. Third, his escape from the 3rd inning of his first start showed that he has learned not to implode after a couple things go wrong. That allowed his teammates to rally in the next inning, and then Berrios regained his confidence and kept a very good Indians team quiet for another few innings. Plus, of course, he changed the brand of grease he's using on the ball. It's not quite as slippery, works great as a hair conditioner...and it's a floor wax!!

I have noticed when ByungHo Park connects, the outfielders just kind of turn around to see how far up into the stands the ball goes. Mitch Garver is bucking for a promotion. Which of the two Twins catchers has the lowest batting average? Might be time for a swap.

The question is, will other teams school off how the White Sox beat up on Hughes, or was that just a bad outing for Hughes? I didn't see that game, but I've been impressed by how Hughes has moved to a different mix of pitches. He still has good command of the strike zone, but his heater has cooled off to mostly upper 80's, with an occasional 90 or 91mph. It helps that his ground ball rate is up, probably due to more sinking change ups and curves.

A lot of power in Wade's legs into that home run swing. It not only cleared the fence, it was a line drive well over it. Ryan Eades... Haven't heard that name in a long while. Wasn't he a second rounder or a supplemental pick? The Twins sure haven't hit the jackpot with many early round pitchers lately.

I know exactly what you mean. Last season these guys looked pretty rough in the field. Buxton was crashing into walls, Sano was dropping pop-ups, Kepler booted a few, and Eddie ended the season firing outfield throws into the stands. By comparison, this year they look like a good group of fielders.

Let us all agree to forgive him if he tries, but fails. Berrios... Hey, I just realized, that sounds like a breakfast cereal! So much healthier than Cheerios, now with extra berries for more energy! The heck with Wheaties, so long Cheerios, I'm having a crunchy bowl of Berrios for breakfast!

Interesting word, orthodoxy. Combines 'ortho,' from the Greek for "right," with 'doxy,' of obscure origin for "prostitute." The right prostitute can be very important, thus we see wide respect for orthodoxy.

"Mauer: What’s a dictionary? Montana: You don’t know what a dictionary is? Mauer: I never went to college McCarthy: It’s a… well… how do I explain this? It’s a book… it has every word in it. Mauer: Every word?" Wait a second...every book I ever read had every word in it. ;-)

This sounds like, "Any left-handed pitcher that is alive and breathing on his own." However, this does beg the question, is this guy better than all the options in Rochester? And if so, how pathetic is the pickings in Rochester?

I can tell you right now what Pressly is doing wrong. He's opening up his chest too early, especially on his breaking pitches. That causes the ball to corkscrew, like it's on a barbecue skewer, rather than tumbling forward (topspin), which would make the ball dive. A good slider has a blend of corkscrew and tumble action, just enough tumble to make it break downward, about the same time it breaks left. Especially on his two hanging sliders for home runs, Jack Morris noted that they did not drop at all because they had "washing machine" spin, which is corkscrew. Now, the difference between a curve ball and a slider essentially is velocity. A slider is supposed to arrive at around 87 to 89 mph, where a curve ball is usually low 80's, all the way down to the 50's. A pitcher doesn't try to create spin on a slider by passing his hand around the outside of the ball, but rather by the grip, a wrist flick, and body position at release. Otherwise his fingers are behind the ball because he plans to throw it hard. Pressly has been squaring up his chest to the plate on his slider too early, removing the forward tumble from his slider. The pitching coach should tell him to throw his slider from a more shoulder-closed release point, the way Bert Blyleven used to do. Old Bert never worried much about making pitches dive, right? That's why. Just throw that slider with more of a closed front shoulder. Then it will dive just fine.

I know exactly why Greene scares you: Aaron Hicks 2.0. A supremely gifted high school athlete, but very raw. Let's draft this polite young freeeeeek, then teach him the finer aspects of baseball. What could possibly go wrong??

Nope, nope, and nope. You take Greene, cross your fingers and try not to worry. Let the coaches and management evaluate his potential as a pitcher or as a position player. If the latter, he could become the next great right fielder in mlb. If the former, he could be the next Doc Gooden, without the partying.

Unfortunately, a "questionable" player begs the question... ;-) You're right, though. Santana is a questionable player, too. Maybe both guys can benefit from a change of scenery.

Wow. Joe Mauer delivers. The legend reappears for a cameo!

I think he was bluffing a drag bunt down the 1st base line to draw the man in closer, so he could pull a ball past him. It almost worked. Eddie Rosario is one of the few guys out there that sets up plays. Mauer does it, too.