jimbo92107

His swing was like Dave Parker of the Pirates, but with even more power. Ortiz could play good 1st base, surprisingly nimble feet and a quick glove. As Seth said, the knock on him was a lack of durability, or the perception of it. Part of the learning process for young players is learning how to take care of their bodies, avoiding injuries, staying in shape, etc. David Ortiz went through that phase, but he got over it and has had a great career. For those who have forgotten, Ortiz was irritated by the hitting philosophy of the Twins, which emphasized hitting to all fields, where Ortiz wanted to just pull home runs. Later he credited Twins coaches for helping make him a better hitter, able to go oppo when needed. Ortiz got many key hits for Boston by flipping his wrists to send a ball to left field.

This "surge" is due to a combination of factors. Obviously Sano and Mauer are hot, but for the last few games we have seen an outfield that hits, a catcher that hits, and pitchers that don't get blown away in the first four innings. I'm going to give Robbie Grossman and Juan Centeno a little love here. Both guys have been around a while in the minors, and both of them are good, steady ballplayers. Centeno especially has impressed me with good at-bats and solid catching, including a remarkably good arm. Been a long time since I saw a catcher make his presence known in a ballgame, even if he's pretty bad at blocking balls in the dirt. With Centeno behind the plate I feel no sense of desperation to get Kurt Suzuki back. With Grossman in LF I feel no desperation to get Rosario back. Let's leave this lineup be for a bit. I could get used to watching a team that competes.

Congratulations to Pat Dean. Nice pitching. This should really be a morale boost to all the hard-working pitchers in AAA. Even if you don't have the most amazing stuff, you have a chance to make it if you really know how to pitch. Dean was spotting the ball around the zone, changing speeds, avoiding patterns, doing all the things a pitcher needs to do if he doesn't have overwhelming stuff. Next big question: If Hughes and Nolasco look bad again, is it time to start Taylor Rogers? Rogers is supposed to be better than Dean, if the prospect list means anything (just barely). Maybe it's time to let the veteran AAA guys start replacing the worn out, over-priced veterans.

Bring out Pressley again! It's only a 5-run lead!!

Has Ryan Pressley been wrestling with a greased pig? The man is filthy!

Miguel Sano... Mister Entertainment!

I'm leaning more towards a cutter because it arrived at 85mph, and I think Dean's slider is more like 82mph.

These are not the Twins you were looking for. [Waves hand] Move along.

That last pitch from Dean to strike out Cruz looked like a high slider. Definitely not what Cruz was expecting. Odd place for a slider, but it worked. Most pitchers spend all their time trying to make their slider almost hook into the ground. Dean purposely spun it or cut it high. Good mix of pitches.

Dang, I've been watching for ten minutes, and I just realized that the score is 6 to 2, IN FAVOR OF THE TWINS. My eyeballs literally assumed they were behind 6-2. Double take city!

Snidley Whiplash!

At least a couple teams would jump all over Trevor Plouffe. He's a solid hitting and fielding 3rd baseman. Nunez is hot, so a real contender could use him as their utility guy. Don't trade Trevor May. The team that grabs him will instantly make him a 5th starter, and then he'll work his way to the middle or top of their rotation for the next eight years, winning between 12 and 15 games each year. We must see the difference between Twins mismanagement and May's ability. He can be very good, if the organization doesn't screw him up. Same goes for several young players. Hi, Alex Meyer! Oswaldo Arcia wouldn't get much, but he looks like a far better player today than he did a year ago. Some team might want a young lefty corner outfielder with some power who is improving all aspects of his game. Agreed that Hughes and Nolasco wouldn't get much of anything right now, which is why it's better to stash them in the bull pen and figure out something in the off season. Gibson should be worth something in trade. He's still looks the part of a useful middle ro guy. Most of these contemplated moves are not an attempt to grab a pirate's haul of prospect booty. This is just flushing out the bilge of a stagnant roster. Har, bring me a bucket of fiery new blood, so we can have a round of fresh new misadventures! Har!

Well, in my job at the missile silo, we all use "Twins2016" as our passwords because really, who would ever guess that?? Actually I'm pretty upbeat about the Twins. Now that any post-season chances are thoroughly blown, players and coaches can relax. It's a practice season, a four month scrimmage. You can start looking for sales on golf clubs early. For the guys with a future, this is a golden opportunity to get experience at the level you need. Buxton, Rosario, Kepler, all the guys in AAA now can work on their games, then come up when they look ripe. Twins management appears to understand this, which is why they've called up Rogers and Dean as starters/relievers. Both look mediocre, which on this team means OUTSTANDING! Juan Centeno has looked decent behind the plate, certainly better than Kurt Suzuki, whose professional career ended sometime last year. Sadly, the FO has yet to acknowledge his shift from professional player to enthusiastic amateur. Maybe that's because he still digs balls out of the dirt? Both Phil Hughes and Ricky Nolasco have ceased to be top ro starters, now looking more like 4th and 5th guys, which is usually reserved for rising rookies or innings eaters, but they can't do that, either. Both actually would serve better in the bull pen, if the Twins had anybody better to start. At the moment they might actually do better with a rotation of Duffey, Dean, Rogers, Santana and May. With Hughes and Milone in the pen, that gives them a couple relievers that can go two or three innings, while the younger starters have the stamina to get through six or seven before pooping out. Meanwhile I've got my doubts about Dozier being a team leader. Seems more like a borderline head case with very little plate discipline. Around the All-Star break I'd trade him and Plouffe, stick Polanco at 2B, Sano back at 3rd, then see what we got in AAA for the outfield. The transition year will not be a winning year. Peace be with you.

Even in a blowout loss like this, Sano makes pitchers act differently. They don't want to put the ball anywhere near the middle.

Sorry, I didn't mean to get into politics. Policies have to come from somewhere... ;-)

Jepsen gives up his usual two runs per appearance...

The Minnesota Twins has become a sanctuary where waning veterans get fat contracts for mediocre production. It's like the old men running the front office are making roster decisions with darts and a magic 8 ball. It's like they read the part in Moneyball where you can get great deals on players, but forgot the part where they have to fit in somehow.

I don't see anything particularly deceptive about Moylan.

Place your bets on Grossman.

Abad does throw some very pretty pitches. Love that floating cutter at 64mph.

Sometimes the man is simply psychic.

If he faced him a lot, I think Joe Mauer's average against Moylan would be about .800... That was a very comfortable swing.

WTF Sano? All he needed do was corral that ball by kneeling down to block it from getting past him on the carom. Even I could do that!

One thing we don't talk about much with AAA veterans like Dean and Rogers is that, when they do come up, they look far less overwhelmed by The Show then the younger cats. Even if their stuff isn't as fizzy as some, they seem a lot more emotionally composed than the guys that are fast-tracked. I don't expect to see Taylor Rogers implode emotionally if somebody bangs a ball over the fence off him. That said, why not call up a couple more AAA veterans like Wheeler, Wimmers and Albers? None of these guys is going to wow the radar gun, but they've spent enough time in the high minors so that they're thoroughly familiar with their games.

Shut him down for a couple weeks, then put him in the bull pen. He's still got great command and knows how to pitch, but he can't go 100 pitches anymore. That spells veteran middle reliever.