jimbo92107

I hope Alex Wimmers to the pen is just to keep him healthy for next season. I want to see this guy as a starter.

Trying to categorize all the Twins starters... Expensive Veterans with Issues Hughes (back, velocity down) Pelfrey (can't hold runners) Nolasco (arm, ankle) ... Santana (PEDs) <-- not an ongoing problem Young Guys with Upside Gibson (sinker baller, low K) May (keeps improving wherever you put him) DuffEy, aka Extra E, Bender, Dr. Hook Berrios (future staff ace) Talented Prospects with Control Problems Meyer Burdi Unlikely Starters Milone The scene at Spring Training could be very interesting if all these guys are still around. Hughes and Nolasco both will have to prove that they are physically able to perform at a winning level. The four young starters will have to show that they can get guys out without walking people. Burdi and Meyer will have to stop walking people or remain stuck in the minors another year. The one guy that seems least likely to stick around as a starter is Tommy Milone. He's stacked up against a lot of talent. Maybe he becomes Deunsing's replacement? To me it seems like Nolasco could be competing on equal ground with Phil Hughes, who has a slight edge from a great 2014, but now appears to be losing his essential velocity. Nolasco's ability (when healthy) to pepper the zone from different angles with many different pitches might be more effective than Hughes's aggressive attack of the zone, but with less zip on the heater. A better option for the building Twins might be during the off season to unload all the veteran starters except Santana, in an effort to acquire prospects, but especially a catcher that can platoon with Suzuki. I'm not all in for trading for shortstops. Danny Santana could still pan out, and Polanco could, too. The other issue is improving the bull pen, which the Twins already did with Cotts and Jepsen. I could see possibly swapping Pelfrey and May next season, tho it's more likely that Pelfrey will continue to insist on starting, thus wind up somewhere else. Another puzzle is JR Graham. He's not really a bull pen guy, is he. Also wondering about Ryan Pressley. Going forward, a possible starter?

The transition from the 2nd to the 3rd GIF is very revealing. In GIF 2, Kepler's toe touch doesn't do much to load up on his rear foot. His swing releases a small amount of load energy too soon, resulting in a slap swing with not much power. The 3rd GIF shows a much better load move onto his drive leg. This not only provides much more power, but it also helps keep his shoulder and torso closed, which allows him to wait a click longer and drive the ball against lefties. The leg kick does three good things. It provides power from extra loading up, it turns the shoulders, torso and hips to avoid stepping in the bucket against lefties, and it allows you to check your swing before the bat head comes around, like Sano does. Miguel Sano does this so smoothly because he's been doing it since he was a kid. Max Kepler is just learning the kick-load move, so you can see it develop. I'd love to see Kepler get a September call-up, but next spring I'd like to see him start in AAA, so he can get more accustomed to the check swing part of that move. You can actually see Sano's power in the way he checks his swing. Keeping the bat tightly cocked on a check swing reveals just how tight his snap is when he does let it go. If Kepler learns to check his swing like Sano, he will start popping a lot more baseballs over the fence. Saving the snap is one of the Big Secrets.

Same theory of added velocity. Pelfrey's 92 to 93mph heater plus two mph makes him a mid-90's guy for one or two innings. Combine that with his fork ball, you might have a dominant middle inning reliever.

Exactly. Greg Maddux: Fastball 45, Curve 45, Control 55.... !

True, but vital to Duffey's effective use of his nasty curve is his ability to spot it reliably. Alex Meyer's curve is nasty, but he couldn't throw it in the same spot twice to save his life. I've seen Duffey drop his nasty curve a foot behind home plate in the dirt, same spot, getting hitters to whiff over it by up to a foot. I've seen him speed it up, slow it down, throw it high and low, and pick the back door with it on a consistent basis. What's funny is that in the prospect bio, Duffey's curve is rated 50, which is about the same as everybody else. Berrios and Tyler Jay have curves rated 55. Better than Duffeys?? Overall, 45...isn't that the score almost everybody gets?? Those number scores must be limited to miles per hour or something.

It's not just the rpm's on Duffey's curve, it's his command and confidence that's really impressive. He's bowling for strikes and spares, putting that curve just where he wants. The other thing is that his heater, an otherwise average 90 to 92mph pitch, is moved around the zone, but rarely down the middle. Assuming that his last two performances are a baseline for what he's got to build on, Tyler Duffey could develop into a serious star pitcher. That's an ace curve ball, and he uses it to set up a well-placed two- and four-seam heater. If he also adds a good change-up, he may leave a lot of hitters looking like he just did in Cleveland and Baltimore. Duffey's curve sets up a remarkably effective dilemma. Very few hitters will swing at it on the first pitch, which means Duffey gets a lot of called strike one's. Now the batter is behind in the count. What's coming next? Duffey's command allows him to place his curve anywhere he wants, including plenty of them below the zone. The curve can make a good hitter whiff by half a foot, while the threat of it can make them late on his average fastball. Plus, he's perfectly willing to throw the curve on ball 3 counts, repeatedly. Most pitchers eventually resort to a fastball if a guy fouls off a few curves. Duffey is happy to throw that tight hook all day. Trickery is the best part. It's tons of fun watching a guy bend a baseball with precision and consistency. It's something every little pitcher wishes he could do, and Duffey is one of the few guys on the planet that appears to have mastered that magic trick. Maybe we should start calling him Dr. Hook.

I like "Extra E" because of Duffey, which usually has one less e at the end. It also reminds me of line from a urine fetish ad in New York: "The extra E is for extra pee!" Or we could call him Captain Hook or something, true... Dr. Hook?

It's fun watching a curve ball specialist. Most mlb pitchers have an okay curve, but Duffey is one of the rare pitchers that just loves to throw that hook.

Gene Glynn blew that one. He hesitated before waving his arm for Escobar to keep going. That's why Esco broke stride, he wasn't sure Glynn was sure, and so on...out.

I wonder if Hu bought a Ninja blender. I read some Amazon reviews on them that said, "DON'T TOUCH THE BLADES!"

A big old yuppers for John and Seth. The only saving grace for this hot mess in the pen is that things should get a lot better over the next couple years. A baseball team is a synergy of many pieces working together. Failure of one part can bring down the whole thing, but sometimes another part can compensate. The Twins had a good thing going in last night's game until they depended on two unreliable pieces, O'Rourke and Graham, who quickly pitched a 4-1 lead into a 4-5 deficit. The rest of the story was even more unreliable pitching. As the Twins have done for several years now, they depended too heavily on older players to continue producing at peak levels, until those players got tired or injured. Perkins and Torii Hunter are good examples of riding a good old horse until it breaks down. Then they found themselves depending on untested, unreliable players like Graham and O'Rourke, who as expected, found a way to fail. The Yankees still have a better hitting lineup than the Twins, which didn't help. They still have A-Roid, which was a killer. I'll continue to argue that intentionally walking A-Roid with the bases loaded was the logical move for Graham. Maybe even plant one in his ear. Bastard's been leaning in his whole career. Anyway, there is no clear way forward from this, other than increased player development. It's too late and too expensive to trade for half a relief staff, so the Twins have cornered themselves into calling up Berrios, Tonkin, maybe Taylor Rogers and Logan Darnell, just to get some fresher arms in there, despite their youth and inexperience. These guys will take their lumps just like Graham and O'Rourke have been, but at least some of them have a future with the club. With the starting rotation and the bullpen degenerating into a shambles, it's time to start cutting and pasting together a staff for next year. Guys like Milone and Pelfrey may have some modest trade value, while a guy like Duensing is sputtering near the end of his career. Graham needs work in AAA; Twins should either make a trade deal for him or hand him back to the Braves. Either way, he's out of the pen. If I were Terry Ryan (perish the thought) I would pull some moves that would reshape the team quickly. I'd DFA Duensing, trade Milone and Pelfrey for whatever, then bring up Berrios, Tonkin, and Jason Wheeler, the big lefty in AA. All are currently on the 40-man roster. Sink or swim boys, take yer lumps and learn. Sadly, I'd leave May in the pen as the traditional one guy the Twins burn up. Jepsen becomes the closer. Perkins goes on the DL for the rest of the season. Rest, rehab, see ya next year, Perk. Let's see, what else is on the shopping list...buy lighter fluid for the townspeople's torches... Call up Max Kepler and bat him third, in front of Sano. Call up Vargas as DH/1B, bat him behind Sano. Call up Buxton, bat him first. Trade or DFA Robinson. Bench Hunter, platoon Mauer with Vargas, rotate Kepler with Hicks and Rosario in the corners. DFA Nunez, call up Polanco to SS. This at least keeps things interesting, in the sense of the Chinese curse.

It's the one time a pitcher would be better off intentionally walking in a run. Sad, but true. You walk A-Rod, at least the next guy's not A-Rod.

One screaming line drive after another. Is there a more eloquent way to say, "He's got nuthin'?"

Jeeze, I've just been trying to get the game feed back, and the instant I do, Duensing just gave up a two run homer. Seriously, one second after I get the game feed back. Boom. Get Duensing out of there!!

Now that is some seriously trivial knowledge. I salute you!

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Just bought a shopping bag made of rip-stop nylon. Problem solved! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GGXZVOU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00 Baggin' it now, baby!

Rosie can hit this guy...I bet. Whoops, lost that bet.

The Nibbler... a super villain that didn't quite make it on Batman.

Hicks does seem to be developing better power from the left side. Still not as much as he could... Hey, I thought the whole idea of Hicks batting first was to have someone on base when Dozier came up.

This has already been a very successful season. Aside from competing realistically for the first half... We found out that - Brian Dozier's monster 2014 was no statistical fluke. - Aaron Hicks indeed could fix his power problems at the plate, and even his weaker lefty swing is looking much better. - Eddie Rosario is a keeper, just as Molitor thought. - Paul Molitor is a pretty good manager, and Tom Brunanski is a pretty good hitting coach. - Trevor Plouffe keeps getting better at 3rd base. - Torii Hunter is indeed a great mentor, helping all the young outfielders, building team morale, instilling professionalism, and providing some great play himself. - Trevor May is a very versatile, very talented young pitcher that gets better in every role. - Kyle Gibson is rounding into a solid mid-rotation starter. - Tyler Duffey's last name has an Extra E, just like an advertisement for urine fetish sex in New York. "The extra E is for extra pee!" - Tommy Milone on a good day can shut down anybody; on a bad day, not so much. - Bert Blyleven, master of the curve ball, has no better idea of the difference between a curve and a slider than any of us hackers. Vertical break?? Then I guess Randy Johnson never threw a curve ball! Come on Bert, only a few guys actually get the ball to break 12 to 6! - Tyler Duffey likes pitching to the Indians more than the Blue Jays. So far. - Molitor likes shifts, bunts, and shifts. Did I mention shifts? - Neil Allen is a pretty good pitching coach, but he still hasn't gotten anybody to throw nothing but change-ups for a whole inning. Somebody's got to do it. History beckons. Double. Dog. Dare. - Byron Buxton needs protective gloves when he runs the bases, and a crash helmet in the field. - Miguel Sano has a really good arm at 3rd. Not much else to say....a nice smile, too. - Kurt Suzuki is a very positive, friendly, upbeat, hard-working catcher. Unfortunately, he's no Pudge Rodriguez. - Joe Mauer...sigh. There's a few other things, but I'm tired now. Twins should call up Stewart Turner for defense, then work with him on his Cuban Kick and Dominican Bat Wave. Then move Mitch Garver to AA. Why are so many American players so stiff at the plate? Loosen up, Gringos; listen to some salsa! Call up Buxton, Vargas, Berrios and Kepler in September. That pretty much completes the band, except for drummer. Who can play drums?

Even the relatively modest move of giving up Chih-Wei Hu for Kevin Jepsen could come back to haunt the Twins. Hu looked like a very good developing pitcher with a neat assortment of pitches and excellent control. Not to mention all the lost Dr. Who/Hu jokes and references to Hu's on First... Damn!

When September rolls around I'm hoping to see one more guy join the Three Musketeers, to form The Fantastic Four Outfielders. Talkin' Der Kid, the Keplermeister. Maximus Ohreallyus Keplermundo. Four men, accidentally exposed to cosmic rays, and now exhibiting strange baseball super powers. Watch as these young heroes defend the honor of the Northland... Ford dealerships, in their quest for the legendary, um, cup or something. He shoots he scores!

I'm dealing with severe shoulder impingement in my right arm these days, so I know that joint injuries can linger a long time. Hopefully Arcia has had access to professional rehab that is much better than I've been getting from the VA. Even so, it could take a while.