iTwins

You could also spin that start the other way. If not for horrendously bad Perkins outing (and a bad Plouffe throw) they're 2-1 coming out of Chicago. If Mike Pelfrey doesn't forget how to pitch in the opening Cleveland game, they sweep the Indians (5-1) and they were one clutch hit in the 10th inning away from taking the middle game of the A's series (6-3). After sweeping the Royals, the Twins could have been 9-3 - but for a few different breaks. I know, "If's and buts" and whatnot, but it's crazy how close the Twins could have been to a Brewers like hot start. That being said, I'll agree with the consensus so far and say they'll likely fall under .500 when the season ends. (I'll say at .500 5 times during the year). I think the pitching will stabilize, but I also think the offense will cool off. I'm sticking with 75 wins.

I don't see it happening. First, because the Red Sox likely won't part with the prospects the Twins want (need) for a stop gap solution like Dozier. Additionally, the Twins have been sorely missing a competent 2B for years. Dozier plays great defense and his bat looks to be an asset as well. It doesn't make much sense for the team to be dumping a young asset like Dozier, who is under team control for the next 5 years, without having a sure solution in the wings (I'm not convinced Rosario is there yet).

No. I want to see him put up solid numbers in consecutive years before offering him any long term deal. Plus, with him being under team control for the next 5 seasons, it may be in their best interest to let him play out the deal and address things in 2019. (If he turns into an All-Star 2nd baseman before that time, you extend - albeit short term since he'll be 32 in '19. If he stays the same - good but not great - you to fill internally).

I've been able to talk myself into not panicking over Nolasco. I've convinced myself that Hughes will have more outings like innings 2-5 yesterday (rather than the 1st inning) as the season progresses. Pelfrey, however, I cannot talk myself into. I know it's early and I know it's too soon to be throwing in the towel on any player, especially a pitcher...yet... To more directly answer the original question - I'd wait until around June or July before leveling any serious evaluations at Nolasco and Hughes. Pelfrey has a much shorter 'grace period' in my opinion, however.

How many starts did the Twins give Jason Marquis in 2012 - 7 or so? I'd put the leash at that point for Pelfrey. If he continues to turn out starts like the first two, I think the Twins make a move 5 to 7 starts in. (I'd wager flipping Deduno and Pelfrey's places will be the first "move").

IF the pitching staff ends the year with another season of league high ERA, then MAYBE I could see Rick Anderson getting the axe. I just don't see Gardy getting canned before the prospects take the field. There will be a lot of vitriol if / when the Twins lose 90 games yet again, but I think the team is prepared to ride this out with Gardy at the helm.

We're only 4 games into the Miracle's season so the numbers don't reflect too much right now; none the less, here's Kepler's stat line from the first 4 games: [TABLE] Year Age Tm Lg Lev Aff G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB 2014 21 FortMyers FLOR A+ [/TD] 4 18 15 4 3 1 4 2 .200 .278 .333 .611 5 1 [TD] [/TABLE] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 4/9/2014. The highlight of his season so far was a 2 RBI triple in the 8th inning of the Miracle's opener. Kepler's hit helped push across 2 of the 3 runs the Miracle scored in the 8th, en route to a 5-1 win over Jupiter.

All I learned from yesterday's game was that Direct TV makes a quality remote, as mine was rather viciously spiked into the floor after Deduno uncorked the game losing pitch. Other than that, I'd say two games is far too early to make any concrete statements about this team. Yup, it was a bad loss, but it doesn't set the tone for the season.

Player: Maximilian Kepler Born: 02/10/1993 (21) Birthplace: Berlin, Germany Height: 6’4" Weight: 205 Position: OF Bats: L Throws: L Max joined the Twins as an international signing in 2009. His $800,000 signing bonus was the largest offer ever extended to a European player at that time. Max was added to the 40 man roster at the end of the 2013 season. Kepler made his professional debut in 2010 (age 17 season) in the Gulf Coast League. He’s spent the past four seasons in the minor league system for the Twins, finishing 2013 at low A Cedar Rapids. He will begin 2014 in high A Fort Myers playing LF. Minor League Stats: [TABLE] Year Age Tm Lg Lev Aff G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB 2010 17 Twins GULF Rk MIN 37 153 140 15 40 6 1 [/TD] 11 13 27 .286 .346 .343 .689 48 1 2011 18 Elizabethton APPY Rk MIN 50 221 191 29 50 11 3 1 24 23 54 .262 .347 .366 .714 70 6 3 2 2 2012 19 Elizabethton APPY Rk MIN 59 269 232 40 69 16 5 10 49 27 33 .297 .387 .539 .925 125 5 8 2 2013 20 CedarRapids MIDW A MIN 61 263 236 35 56 11 3 9 40 24 43 .237 .312 .424 .736 100 2 2 [TD]1 1 [/TABLE] Prospect Rankings (2014): Fangraphs – 7 Minorleagueball.com - 10 Baseball America – 13 (Top 15 under 25) MLB.Com – 15 BaseballProspectus - NR Scouting Report: You can read detailed scouting reports on Max here: http://www.minorleagueball.com/2013/6/27/4472970/prospect-profile-max-kepler-of-minnesota-twins http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/min/bernie-pleskoff-athletic-twins-prospect-max-kepler-boasts-broad-skill-set?ymd=20131230&content_id=66238584&vkey=news_min While it’s worth your time to read both stories linked above, the highlights of Kepler’s game are: + Power + Plate discipline (Able to put the ball in play with 2 strikes, will draw walks) - Arm strength (Average to below average, likely destined to be LF) - Speed While the Twins had plans for Kepler to be a pure CF when he was signed, it has become apparent that Max’s future likely will be in the corner outfield. His speed has decreased as he’s adding more weight, which has limited his range. His arm has been described as "mediocre" by most scouts, which likely makes him a LF or even a 1B going forward. Although many believe that if he’s shifted to 1B he will be able to add defensive value at the position. 　 Features on Kepler: Read Tyler Mason's piece on Fox Sports North: HERE Kepler at bat: [video=youtube_share;EEwgPzZ28SI] Twitter: You can follow Max on Twitter (@Kepleroni) News & Notes: Max strained his UCL in 2013 (similar to the issues Miguel Sano encountered this season) but was able to recover with rehab, instead of surgery. Mike Berardino has a great piece covering Max's rehab and recovery.

Max Kepler

This was the biggest reason for me signing up for Direct TV. There were no cable options for getting Fox Sports North, yet I couldn't watch the games online as I was in the "home market". Thanks archaic blackout rules! The ONLY option (other than moving) was Direct TV + Sports Package. I hope these blackout rules change sometime. Iowa baseball fans get completely screwed when it comes to these restrictions. I DO like the MLB.TV and Extra Innings products (I think they're well worth their price) but when you're blacked out from 6 games a night, it's really hard to justify.

Oswaldo Arcia. I like my players to have a little energy (life / passion) at the plate. Nothing drives me crazy like a player looking a strike three then just slowly walking back to the dugout with their head hanging. Arcia has that energy - yesterday during the 9th inning, Arcia looked furious at the plate. Almost a "I DARE you to throw it to me" look (While he softly grounded out to end the at bat, I still appreciate the effort). It's the same reason I like watching Deduno pitch. The energy and the "just try to hit this" aggression are refreshing to see.

Hicks has a great deal of talent. It appeared in (all too infrequent) flashes in 2013 - but you could see the potential there. Hopefully after taking his lumps last year, he's ready to adjust and improve. The Twins certainly could use another bright spot in the lineup. I'm having a good feeling about Hicks this year. (Of course, I had that feeling last year too...so that isn't exactly a ringing endorsement).

The craziest part is that Cabrera's monster deal likely means the Tigers won't be able to resign Max Scherzer in the coming offseason. Scherzer would look good in a Twins uniform...

I hope this means they're on the cusp of another move. Be it a waiver claim or a trade. If they did this to facilitate keeping Bartlett on the roster (and they plan to use him as the 4th OF) well...I... (Unless of course, Florimon will be on the DL as I see some are speculating now. Then keeping Bartlett as Escobar's backup makes some sense).

Hoffman was a member of the Tigers farm system, I believe. The Twins signed him as a minor league free agent in December.

What a difference a year makes. Best of luck in Pittsburgh, Vance.

Chris Herrmann being optioned was the surprise for me. With all of Gardy's talk about flexibility and having a versatile bench, I thought Herrmann was a sure bet to make the team. I've given up fretting over Kubel making the team. I'd start with Colabello as the DH and allow Kubel to heat up in AAA before giving him the job, but I guess the coaching staff / front office feels Kubel can and will heat up. I'll defer to their judgement on that one. I'll be interested to see if the Twins snag someone else's 4th OF off of waivers or if they are willing to use Bartlett as a super utility player. I just don't feel like Presley is making the team after his poor spring.

Will they be a good team? No, I don't believe they will. However, that doesn't mean they will be the worst team of the last four years. The rotation has improved from AAAA filler to quality starters. The bullpen is solid, and is less likely to be worn out prematurely due to starters who only last 1-2 innings. Even if the offense stays as stagnant as it's looked this spring (and I don't believe it will) I think they improve by 4 to 5 wins on the strength of pitching alone (putting them right around 70 wins). If anyone of the Kubel/Willingham/Arcia/Hicks/Pinto group has a breakout season, I think we're looking at 72-77 wins.

I hope he clears, but I doubt he will. The Blue Jays make a living claiming all sorts of players on waivers, this feels like another one they'd take a crack at. It's too bad he never worked out for the Twins. Hopefully he fixes whatever is ailing him (be it mechanical or mental) and can return to form somewhere.

"Asked", "Pushed" same thing. I like the move. Gibson deserves to be a starter and I think Deduno can be quite good out of the 'pen.

Arizona Diamondbacks - 80.5 Over Atlanta Braves - 87.5 Under Baltimore Orioles - 80.5 Over Boston Red Sox - 87.5 Under Chicago Cubs - - 69.5 Under Chicago White Sox - 75.5 Under Cincinnati Reds - 84.5 Under Cleveland Indians - 80.5 Over Colorado Rockies - 76.5 Under Detroit Tigers - 89.5 Over Houston Astros - 62.5 Under Kansas City Royals - 81.5 Over Los Angeles Angels - 86.5 Under Los Angeles Dodgers - 92.5 Over Miami Marlins - 69.5 Over Milwaukee Brewers - 79.5 Over Minnesota Twins - 70.5 Over New York Mets - 73.5 Under New York Yankees - 86.5 Under Oakland Athletics - 88.5 Over Philadelphia Phillies - 76.5 Under Pittsburgh Pirates - 83.5 Over San Diego Padres - 78.5 Over San Francisco Giants - 86.5 Under Seattle Mariners - 81.5 Over St. Louis Cardinals - 90.5 Over Tampa Bay Rays - 88.5 Over Texas Rangers - 86.5 Over Toronto Blue Jays - 79.5 Under Washington Nationals - 88.5 Over Tie breaker: The two AL WC teams will be: Red Sox, Rangers Tie breaker 2: The two NL WC teams will be: Diamondbacks, Braves

I like the trade from both sides. The Nationals were (are) close to contention and needed a reliable CF. They dealt from a position of strength (starting pitching) to acquire the piece they needed. The Twins were in need of high quality starting pitching and dealt from a position of strength (CF) to make that deal happen. If Meyer turns into the player the experts are projecting him to be - I think it's a win for both sides. (Assuming Span continues to play at the same level for the next couple of seasons).

If he's healthy and can contribute - awesome. If he's not healthy or simply isn't better than one of the other bullpen options - oh well. It's a minor league deal, and not at all a risk for the Twins yet it has the potential to be a decent reward. Good move.

That reminds me of my other gripe. The yard sale - while a great idea - was executed poorly. By 10am on Saturday it was already cleaned out. I wanted a Dozier jersey and a batting helmet but by early Saturday, only Sept. call ups and spring training jerseys (without numbers most of the time) remained. Batting helmets were gone, as were most of the other desirables (player artwork, banners - etc.) I'm not sure how they fix that, as all they want to do is sell it (they could care less WHEN it's sold, I'm sure) so I think the lesson is go on Friday if you want anything cool.