jimbo92107

Eddie does love the spotlight...

We all knew Kintzler wasn't the solution at closer. Considering how well he has done so far, we really can't complain about the man. We all just wish he was a little better pitcher.

This is almost as bad as golf. I can take the bad outcomes, but every now and then I'd hit a good shot, and it would give me a futile bit of hope...

Well, that was the least of my fears. I figured he was gonna walk that guy so Pedroia could hit a grand salami.

Good point. Mauer's ineffectiveness is partly due to hitting balls where fielders are, rather than hitting them "where they ain't." Mauer's whole athletic philosophy centers on establishing certain habits, then sticking with them. Through most of his career, his batting style of letting the ball get deep, then executing a super-quick, slashing swing has generated excellent results with hits to the opposite field. However, these days, a lot of balls he used to smoke down the line are peeling off foul into the left field stands, and outfielders like KC's Gordon are positioning themselves near the line to take away more of those previous hits. Mauer also his having more trouble squaring up balls from lefty pitchers, tho for a few weeks last season it looked like he was emulating Kepler's hand position on lefties, and it was working. It's still tempting for me to think Mauer's difficulties come down to some little tweak of his stance or style, not a general decline in his physical ability.

On the other hand, Mauer's average exit velocity is second highest on the team, which means he's hitting balls harder than anybody not named Sano.

It's too bad...Gibson really looks the part of a classic mlb pitcher. Tall, lanky, his stuff sinks and bends... But for some reason he just hasn't put it all together into impressive results. I agree that he should go to Rochester to see if he can figure it out one more time. It's like he has lost faith in his own ability to succeed. Very little confidence on the mound, which can't be fun.

Last season it looked like Berrios was slinging everything in a low plane, making it too easy for hitters to swing back along that plane. Major league hitters often greet such offerings with flat line drives hit right up the middle at high speed. I hope Berrios has found a slightly higher release point this season. I also hope he finishes his follow through with his glove ready to pick off line drives.

Niko Goodrum belting home runs and drawing walks... Please continue, young man.

USAFChief, on 30 Apr 2017 - 8:07 PM, said: They gotta find someone else to hit behind him, but yeah...pretty nice start to 2017. Agreed. Two candidates are bashing balls in Rochester right now. Either of Palka or Park would be fine with me, whichever is hot. I suppose Palka might have a slight edge because of positional flexibility, and Palka is a lefty power bat. The Twins would dearly like Vargas to fill that roll, but he seems to have settled into more of a line drive hitter than a tater smasher. I'm afraid the Twins have converted Vargas into a gap hitter, rather than Big Pappy 2.0. Sigh. Oh, I just noticed a couple other factors in Palka's favor. He's on the 40, and Park is on the DL.

Miguel Sano's incredible average exit velocity is a testament to not just the mammoth power of his swing, but also the precision of that beautiful beast. He's not just making hard contact; he's putting the sweet spot of the bat onto the ball with great consistency. The result is still only part of the story. The other part is all the pitches Sano does NOT swing at. All those low, outside curves, balls in the dirt, high and in... Sano is no longer swinging at junk. This leaves a pitcher in a terrible predicament if he's serious about pitching to Sano. In fact, I'm seeing more and more semi-intentional walks when Sano lays off the first couple junk pitches. At 2 balls and no strikes, very few pitchers want to give this man something in the strike zone. Miguel Sano makes a lot of pitchers act like Mister Nibbles. It's understandable.

Two good things happened for Buxton at the plate today in Tuesday's game at Rangers. First, Buxton took a walk against a pitcher that was having command problems. At his worst, Buxton was swinging at crap, even from a struggling pitcher. Second, Buxton got a scratch hit _to the opposite field_. Very important because Buxton has been trying waaaay too hard to pull everything...over the left field fence. This time he slapped the ball to right center. Very good sign. Also, I noticed on playback that Buxton did a much better job following the ball into the bat on his single, rather than looking ahead where he hoped the ball would end up. Better use of the eyeballs. Keep it up, kid!

Actually, the Twins have a very good replacement for Buxton in AAA: Zach Granite. Send down the struggling young superstar and bring up a very fast CF with a decent bat and good base running skills. Granite is not considered a stellar prospect, but he's currently #22 in the Twins system, and he certainly won't do worse than Buxton right now at the plate. As others have observed, Buxton's main problem is confidence, but it now manifests itself in a terrible approach at the plate. Let him break it down to the fundamentals in Rochester, then gradually build his confidence back up. We all know Buxton can hit at this level from that hot streak he went on at the end of last season. A month in AAA without the pressure of big crowds and TV cameras might allow Buxton to get his smile back. Remember, Torii Hunter was up and down several times before he finally caught on for good. As for Gibson, I'm not sure what he needs. He's a veteran pitcher now, yet he still seems to lack command of his arsenal of pitches. What is the key variable between a good and a bad outing for this guy? It's tougher to analyze than Buxton because Gibson's difficulties don't seem to be consistent. He either shuts a team down, or he gets completely hammered. Assuming Berrios replaces Mejia, the only starter still available on the 40-man roster is Felix Jorge down in AA Chattanooga. Jorge currently is #6 in the Twins system, so he's considered a very good prospect. Give him a taste? One good thing about Jorge is that he has been a very good control pitcher his whole minor league career. I could see the Twins bringing him up for a few starts if Gibson goes on the DL for a while. Shoulder soreness, whatever.

"No recording of this game may be disemboweled...dismembered...disengaged..." The new announcer has a little problem with, um, words... That's Torii Hunter?? Oh, the pain...

Sano with the arm. ZANG!!

Brother Brian, good write-up! Man, this team needs some spark at the plate. Call up Palka, Park or Vargas, somebody with more pop at DH than Grossman. Mauer should NOT be hitting 4th behind Sano.

With a really savvy catcher, Tyler Duffey could be an excellent starting pitcher. First, Duffey should embrace his unique gift of a mind-bending curve ball. Expand on its use, throw it at many different speeds, using the fastball mainly to surprise hitters that are clearly waiting for the curve. Meanwhile, the guy that should hit the pen is Kyle Gibson. Mr. Nibbles needs to learn to just throw the dang ball for strikes, and nothing teaches that like being a relief pitcher. I'd swap Gibson and Duffey before I called up Berrios.

I agree that Grossman has an almost freakishly good ability to get on base. He squeezes out walks better than just about anybody I've ever seen. Not sure why pitchers don't challenge him more - he's not that good a hitter! The advantage with Granite is that he's also pretty good with the bat, but more of an offensive threat than Grossman. In a tight game, if you've got a guy on second base, do you want your hitter to walk, or get a single? Plus, Granite is maybe the best outfielder in the Twins minor league system, where Grossman's D is borderline. Last, would you rather have Grossman or Granite be that guy on second base in a tight game? Who's the better pinch runner? I don't mean this as a knock on Grossman. I do like him as a ballplayer despite his limited gifts. He's a smart player and a shining example of plate discipline. However, overall it looks like Zach Granite would provide more benefits.

Cut Craig Breslow and Robbie Grossman, bring up Kennys Vargas and either Zach Granite or Nico Goodrum, depending if you need infield or outfield replacement. I'd lean towards Granite because he's blazing fast if you need a pinch runner, and he's an excellent outfielder, unlike Grossman. Put Granite anywhere in the OF, there's little or no drop off defensively. Meanwhile Vargas is adequate at 1B and provides decent power from both sides of the plate. Looking at Goodrum's fielding stats, it looks like he's a possible super sub, playing anywhere on the field. I like both Breslow and Grossman, but they don't fit this team. Breslow is pretty close to done in baseball, tho I'd love it if he became a pitching coach for the Twins. Grossman still can be valuable to a team that needs a high OBP pinch hitter.

1. Jason Castro. Replacing long-past his prime Kurt Suzuki with a healthy, talented young backstop has been huge. Castro frames better, calls good games, defends better, and hits better than a aged Suzuki. 2. A healthy starting five. Cross fingers, but it's been a while since the Twins started a season with five guys that weren't coming off injuries or breaking down. 3. Much better bullpen. Now we have a pen fairly well stocked with guys that could be and have been starters. Most of them can go multiple innings if needed, and they will most likely be needed. 4. Another year for the future stars. Sano, Kepler, Buxton, Rosario, Polanco - Each of them scuffled at some point last season, and now they're back with more experience, a little less rookie nerves. The outfield now looks great, and the infield is surprisingly solid...so far... 5. New management. The Pohlads finally shucked the old school guys and brought in modern management. I respected them, but it was time for a fresh approach. I suspect this new attitude has reverberated throughout the organization.

This kid sounds great. Great is good enough for me.

"5. Privacy – My wife told me that she didn’t want me posting her private details publicly anymore. Not on Twins Daily, Facebook, Twitter or anything like that… She said that it wasn’t anyone else’s business. I love her and respect her so I told her that I wouldn’t, although I suspect that her hemorrhoids are making her a little cranky." Sorry to hear about your wife's hemorrhoids, RB. I sympathize, my own explosive diarrhea episodes happen at the most inopportune times, like last Sunday night at karaoke. I just can't hit those Steve Perry high notes without embarrassing myself...

Low T's got nothing on low IQ. Still, it's just a number. A very low, depressing number...sniff...

Duffey dominates again.

A lot of encouraging signs, especially from the hitters. Polanco sure does look like a major league ballplayer, doesn't he? Skills and smarts. Sano is showing much better plate discipline, as is everybody except Buxton. Even Eager Eddie has taken a couple walks. Kepler looks like he's starting to hit the ball square on the screws...last season that was prelude to a power display a couple games later. Dozier hasn't gotten hot yet, but he could bust out anytime. Everybody is hitting except...Buxton, and strangely enough, I'm not worried about Buxton. He'll hit as soon as he realizes that he's the cat, and the pitcher is the mouse. Oh, and thank goodness for Jason Castro. All he's done is stabilize the catcher position, take a ton of walks and knock in key runs.