cwzimmerman

I don't either. IMO, of all the starters who could conceivably come north from spring training, he is likely one of the top five starters and deservedly so based on last season. Once he is no longer considered one of the top five, then a decision will need to be made. I see no reason to hurry that process right now. However, I do agree that he likely wouldn't bring back much in a trade because there are many starting pitchers of relatively similar abilities and capabilities available at any given time, via free agency or by trade. Why give up much of anything worthwhile when you can likely get similar value without having to give up a prospect at any level?

While I certainly remember him, I was a bit too young to really have any strong attraction to him for that reason. Besides, Zimmerman is not all that uncommon a surname wherever those of German descent (like myself) tended to congregate when they immigrated from the old country.

I too have had a great deal of admiration for Kirby, Herbie, G-Man, and Bruno from that era. However, except for a few scattered seasons, most of the 70s, 80s, and 90s were far more often than not difficult times to be a Twins fan. Obviously many of us persevered and kept following the Twins during the many down years because of our innate love of both the game and the team. I also remember how utterly gut-wrenching listening to all that contraction talk was and how depressing it was when Calvin Griffith had all but sold the team to a group from Charlotte, NC. Thankfully, Carl Pohlad stepped in and saved the day by purchasing the team.

I remember a bit of the 60s as well, particularly the '68 and '69 seasons (born in '60). Remember trying to catch games on WCCO in '68 from a little transistor radio in my bedroom in St. Cloud. I have also been told that I had a nickname for former Twins catcher Earl Battey. Based on what my mom has mentioned, I seemed to take great joy in referring to him as "Hurl" Battey at some time prior to that. I don't even remember what years he played for the Twins. Nowdays, about the only chance I get to watch or listen, outside of annual 2 week trips to central Minnesota from my current home just north of Indianapolis, is via the MLB package on DirecTV, plus some additional items garnered while lurking on this site.

Despite his periodic bouts of wildness, I would hang on to Deduno. Even in the unlikely event that the Twins are able to sign two or more quality starters (depending on how we each define "quality"), he would still likely serve as a serviceable starter for the back end of the rotation. Everything else being equal, I don't think he's done anything to not deserve an opportunity to be in the starting rotation to open the season.

Regardless, there's certainly many times more mosquitos and horseflies up there than people.

I agree regarding his season. While a .244 batting average is less than eye-opening, the rest of the package was at least respectable this past season, especially with the less than palatable options the Twins had at second base entering the 2013 season. While he probably wouldn't be a starter at 2nd for a lot of teams, he certainly represented an upgrade (in my view) over who the Twins had been playing at 2nd in recent seasons. Hopefully, he won't backtrack in the 2014 season.

I agree with Pseudo. I think it shows his value as a teammate.

One thing I've never seen in all the threads bringing up the service time angle is, how does such an abritrary action play on the psyche of the player if they've shown that they're ready? Provided that his play merits consideration for going north with the team, would such an action potentially cause the player to be more likely to sign elsewhere at his first opportunity? I say that if the Twins think Hicks is ready (which they apparently do), then to heck with the service time angle and give him a reasonable opportunity to show what he can do. If he falls flat on his face the first go-round, then the whole service time thing basically becomes a moot point. BTW -- I agree with TR on this point.

I think there is a reasonable chance that it could be almost as bad. However, I think such a rotation has a better chance of being at least serviceable than what we'll be starting the season with. Adding Cole DeVries to the mix gives it a bit better chance at being serviceable. While Kyle Gibson will likely make his debut sometime this season, I'm leery of expecting too much from him this season. Next season might be an entirely different story.

Fingers crossed here. I fully expect that with the relative lack of quality MIs in the minor league system, Dozier and Florimon would have to almost horrific to be yanked from the lineup, and that's not to say that it can't or won't happen with either one. Of the two, I would imagine that Dozier will have a bit longer leash because there is at least some reason to believe he can provide a bit of offense to boot. Harder to say with Florimon vs. Escobar, as neither one is likely able to hit his way out of a wet paper bag for anything resembling a reasonable period of time. Kind of makes one long for the days of Christian Guzman and Luis Rivas.

Unfortunately, being stuck in Indiana means that I won't be able to attend. Bummer! Sounds like fun!

I agree. Until the Twins come up with some clearly better options for starters, which I don't see happening this year, why not give him an honest, legitimate shot? I'm not looking for anything earth-shattering here (although it would certainly be a pleasant surprise), something that is half-way decent more often than not in terms of ultimate results (win/loss) and the other various pitching stats, would be acceptable to me. The obvious question is, is he capable of delivering that in a long-term test? Will he even be given an honest shot at it? Many questions, few answers.

Does anyone else think that we've now beaten this thread nearly to death? I agree with Brock's thoughts above to a "T".

As we've been seeing with Mike Pelfrey. Interesting regarding the Cubs shutting down Baker, although not all that surprising to me given his past history.