jimbo92107

"...any manager would be crazy not to want to pencil Trout's name in the line-up card everyday." Actually, the Angels lineup card is printed with Trout's name in CF. If anybody else wants the position, they'll have to break the printer. ;-)

BTW, has anybody else notice that Trevor Plouffe so far this season is doing a good imitation of an All-Star third baseman? His fielding seems much better, and he really looks like he's "figured some things out" at the plate. Right now Plouffe and Torii Hunter look like the best field position players on the team, along with Escobar, who has no permanent position, but maybe should be the SS rather than Santana...

Too early to send Santana down. Let the kid get his game settled down for another month. If by then he's still flailing at the plate, bring up Jorge Polanco again. Polanco looks good at SS, and his bat looks more promising than Santana's. Either that, or just stick Escobar at SS and see how that works for a while. One thing I would NOT do is stick Santana back in the outfield. That didn't do him any good, and it cost other outfield candidates some playing time last year. BTW, has anybody else noticed that Santana's bat doesn't seem quite a quick as last season? Maybe he's swinging the stick too much like a garden rake.

When I watched Adam Brett Walker's home run at the end of spring training, his stance and swing reminded me of Chili Davis. Now if he can just learn to switch hit! ;-)

Question: If you took the best players today from Rochester, Chattanooga and Cedar Rapids, how would they fare against the MLB club in twenty games? My guess is the minor league team would go 15 - 5 against the Twins. Sano, Buxton and Rosario would tear the Twins pitching apart, while Meyer, May and Berrios would mow down the punchless Twins hitters. I'd go with this hitting lineup: 1. Polanco, SS 2. Buxton, CF 3. Rosario, RF 4. Sano, 3B 5. AB Walker II, DH (RF) 6. Pinto, C 7. Levi Michael, 2B 8. Brock Peterson, 1B 9. Hicks, LF Starters: Meyer, Berrios, May, Achter, Darnell. Releivers: Theilbar, Tonkin, Pressly, Melotakis, and Burdi to slam the door. Manager: Doug Mientkiewicz

It's possible that there's an ethical gray area here, at least from Ervin Santana's perspective. He might have bought some "stuff" from a buddy that told him it would help him recover from arm soreness, but then decided not to ask his buddy what was in it. Sure 'nuff, it worked. Also sure 'nuff, it was steroids. I do agree with one commenter that baseball may be too harsh on players that are using PEDs to recover from injuries. It's a shame that a fine pitcher like Santana reaches a point where it hurts more and more to do what they love, which is making a baseball duck and dance past major league hitters. If Santana suddenly was hurling it at 96 or 98mph, then it would seem more unfair, but he was just zipping it in at his usual velocity. On the other hand, baseball has always been a young man's game. By taking steroids, Santana beat out guys like May and Meyer, who now spend more of their careers in AAA. Also, this might explain why the Twins were able to sign Santana, when we all know that the Twins usually are last in line for top pitchers. Why did the big boys back off from Santana? Maybe this explains it.

Maybe the Twins should pay Santana with performance-enhanced money. Great big Monopoly bills. Sorry Ervin, but I don't buy the "I don't know what I was taking" excuse. This is 2015, not the 1990's. Players have to know, it's their job to know what's in the pills they're taking. If you bought dubious pills from a dubious source, it's your fault if they're full of yummy steroids. Meanwhile, the Twins should have called up May, not promoted Pelfry from the pen. May has already pitched in the bigs, so he's no longer a bundle of nerves. He should be able to settle down and be a horse. They should let May prove himself.

Yes, it's a bummer for May, but keep in mind that while May's control has improved, he still is prone to spells of inconsistency, where Milone has a record of being a mature control pitcher. If May continues to improve his command of the strike zone and to iron out his inconsistency, then soon he will be back in the starting rotation. I think Trevor May is going to be a workhorse starter for the Twins for several years, possibly on the same level as Kyle Gibson. It's just a matter of time, and probably not that much time. As for Pelfrey taking over from Milone (should he falter), I get the feeling Pelfrey is done as a starter for the Twins. He wasn't that good even when he was healthy, and now he's older, and post TJ. I think the Twins are going to see what they can get out of him as a middle releiver, where he can cut loose more with his heater, not having to budget his energy like a starter. Of course I don't know if the Twins promised Pelfrey that he'd get the first shot at a rotation spot if somebody goes south, but they already know his history, and there's no reason to expect him to suddenly develop better stuff. Pelfrey may do a spot start now and then if a somebody has a sore arm, but I think the fifth spot is destined to go to Trevor May.

Trevor May should keep a bag packed. If any of the starting five falters or gets hurt, May will get the call in about a minute.

"He may not be as stunningly beautiful as my lovely wife, but he’s dependable." Well played, sir.

Exactly. Schafer is a low-risk temp defensively in the OF. Excellent pinch runner, base stealer. And if Bruno can find the magic words to make him a .250 hitter, he could become a semi-regular player. Otherwise, he's gone next season after Hicks learns to have a plan at the plate, or if some other OF in AA or AAA can hit well enough to promote. Meanwhile, Schafer clearly does NOT have a plan at the plate. Not a good one, anyway. I saw him stand there and get struck out on 3 pitches from Hahn. That was not a plan, that was a guy that had no idea what to do, so he just stood there. Heck, I could do that, except I'd be leaping backwards and crapping my pants with every pitch... Those guys throw hard!

Joe Mauer is a great guy, and he used to be a great catcher. However, even if he comes back and gets his average back up to .350, he's still going to be a singles hitter at a power position. Best scenario for all concerned would be to trade Mauer to the Red Sox, where he could play right field like Cuddyer and bang 80 doubles per year off the Green Monster. His bat doesn't fit the way the Twins want to build a team here, but in Boston he would have well over 100 RBI per year until he can't wave a stick anymore.

Love that Santana kid. His short, quick swing and surprising power reminds me a little of Paul Molitor. Speed, too. With his versatility, he could be a super utility guy, or settle in at CF or SS. As for Hicks, I'm with Gardenhire - let him prove he can hit better pitching in AAA. Hicks was horribly overmatched at the mlb level. Needs to learn situational hitting, pitch recognition. He's going to be a long-term project that might not get back to Minneapolis before late next season. Better that then more unprepared embarrassment. Meanwhile, it's time to bring up more of the kids like K-Var. There's at least five pitchers in Rochester that I'd rather see than Burton, who has really been looking mediocre. I'd like to see S-Gil, D-Gue, A-Mey, T-May, and maybe MarBurg.

What I'd like to know about Jordan Schafer is how he's getting himself out at the plate. What's he doing wrong - trying to pull everything, over-swinging, a big hole in his swing, etc. There might be something about him that Bruno can work on. Maybe he can borrow Danny Santana's bat and approach. Or Suzuki's.

Wondering how good a kid like Berrios could be is almost better than finding out. It's before anything bad happens, no blown elbows, no off-field embarrassments, no worries about service time or if a contract suits the player's ego... Right now I'm wondering if JO Berrios is really the top man in the Twins farm system. I'll let myself dream about that for a little while longer.

Of course you trade him if the return is good. You could even include Duensing in a package deal for Suzuki. Two good players currently performing at a high level for one or two top-20 prospects. Orioles? They could use a good catcher, and every team can use another good lefty reliever. Twins need a fire sale, quick. I'd dump most of this team, including Joe Mauer, whose bat doesn't fit at 1st base unless he's banging doubles off the Green Monster in Boston. Too bad Mauer has a no-trade clause, but he might okay a trade to the Red Sox, where his average would go back up to about .370 the rest of his career.

I know that hitters try to read pitchers. Do pitchers read hitters, too? I suppose they do, if they think they see something that indicates a hitter's intention. Recently I've been watching Joe Mauer's at-bats, and I may have detected something that pitchers and catchers are using against him. It's common knowledge that Mauer wants to become more of a power hitter, turn on inside pitches, pull and lift them. What I've noticed is that Mauer seems to be tipping off his intention to try pulling the ball. When he waggles the bat over his head, he's looking to pull it. I think when a catcher sees him doing that waggle, he instantly positions himself outside, so when Mauer tries to pull it, he can't do it effectively. Conversely, when Mauer holds the bat very still above his head, he is signalling that he's going to do his patented inside out swing down the third base line. When the catcher sees that, he positions himself inside, so Mauer has to get his hands inside and fight off the pitch. Has anybody else noticed this tell? It may have something to do with Mauer's peculiar ineffectiveness this season. If it's true, then Mauer certainly is clever enough to reverse reverse his behavior, making the current tell useless. Waggle the bat, then hit the outside pitch to left field. Hold the bat still, then smash an inside pitch over the fence. Do that a couple times, and the joke will be over.

I saw the whole game from the Legends Club. Dickey's knuckler works best at about 81 to 82mph, but on this 31F day, he was throwing it around 75 to 76mph, so it wasn't behaving the way he wanted. As a result he was having to throw his alternate pitches, a so-so curve and a BP fastball. Twins hitters were simply looking for the knuckles at release. See knuckles, don't swing. Don't see knuckles, sit on the curve. Ka. Boom. Even worse, Dickey really has to hump it up to get 87mph out of his fastball, which hitters can see. If that knuckler isn't working right, it's a long day for Dickey.

Just figured what Aaron Hicks is doing rong at the plate. In the movie "Blazing Saddles" there's a dance scene where gay dancers push their hands forward while pushing their asses backwards, singing, "...that's why they're doing the French Mistake..." Yup, Hicks is doing the French Mistake. It's not as obvious as in the comedy, but the effect of letting your rear hip trail behind the swing accomplishes the same thing: no power, no reach, lots of weak pop-ups. The rear hip has to torque in front of the swing, dragging your hands along for the ride. Right now Hicks is faking it, trying to make it look like he's turning his hip, but it's actually trailing. The result is a weak arm swing, not a body swing. The only real way to cure the French Mistake is to whip the bat thru the zone as hard as you can, over and over, then do that when you're at the plate. Turn the hip, then let it rip.

It's not a stat, but Florimon lately has been looking a lot more confident at the plate than earlier in the season. I think we're seeing him blossom as a complete baseball player.

Mauer hitting 2nd instantly puts pressure on the pitcher to get Hicks out, which should give Hicks more hittable pitches. Unfortunately, Hicks is starting the season with a lot of whiffing. That should change as he settles down. Already the few walks Hicks has drawn have paid off, with Joe Mauer right behind him.

I called it on Danny Valencia - 35 home runs, great defense, starting outfielder for the Twins for the next decade! Yo, whatcha think of me now, be-atch!

Polanco's got a lot more power hitting right. Hitting left his hip pull looks unnatural. Harrison at third looks like his shoes weigh ten pounds each, and he will be a total sucker for change-ups the way he lunges forward in the box.

Hammer / Slammer Homerama?

I like Swarzak's bulldog attitude. He's a rotation regular waiting to happen.