Steven Buhr

I'm fine with this deal from the standpoint that I don't feel the Twins gave up a ton to get Nunez. But when I look at his slash line, I can't help but think James Beresford could produce about as well and play better defense. Beresford's knock is that he doesn't show power, but Nunez's .690 career OPS wouldn't be too tough to match.

FREE JAMES BERESFORD! OK, maybe it's a little premature for a campaign. But through the Red Wings' first two games, James is batting .500 (five hits in ten ABs)! he's consistent, too, going 2 for 4 in the season opener and 3 for 6 in their extra-inning loss in game 2. he scored a run and has one RBI, as well. No walks, but when you can hit at a .500 rate, who wants to walk, right? No strikeouts, either, so there's that.

It's possible. One year after the affiliation began, we now have a local radio station carrying 120 of the Twins broadcasts (they carried the White Sox the past few years). Mediacom has chosen to provide Comcast Sports out of Chicago (Cubs and White Sox games). I don't see them switching to FSN because the Kernels affiliation will not change the fact that there are more Cubs fans in this area than any other allegiance. Maybe eventually they'll add FSN, depending on what FSN would charge per subscriber. You can actually get a package that includes the YES network... but not FSN. Yes, that gripes me. Of course, the Twins/Kernels affiliation expires after 2016, so I guess there's even a chance that, about the time the first Kernels alums not named Buxton arrive at Target Field, there could be another affiliation change.

Yes the official scorer changed what was originally down as a 3rd error on Vielma in the 8th inning in to an infield single. I thought the original decision was the right one, but whatever. From what I recall, all of the errors were throwing errors. A couple of balls clanked off of the fielder's glove and then the throw had to be rushed, etc. There's no doubt the weather was a factor. Then again, the Clinton infielders managed to make plays, so I'm not sure you can totally excuse the errors. Agree that the pitchers did a good job of working through the errors. UPDATE: Yep, check out this from the official box score: FIELDING E: Wade 3 (3, throw, throw, throw), Vielma 2 (2, throw, throw).

Obviously, as an Iowan, this issue hits home for me. Anyone inclined to read what I've written about it in the past can do so by clicking the "Alice's Restaurant" link in my TD signature line. But I have doubts that anything will change any time soon. As John writes, there will likely be some kind of settlement at some point before this ever goes to court and I see NO WAY that baseball will allow any such settlement to include an end to the blackouts resulting from the demands of regional sports networks. RSNs are funding so much of the increase in baseball's revenue that they really are calling all the shots here. Using the Twins as an example, they need to maximize their media rights revenues to have any hope of keeping up with the big market teams. So if FSN says "we want Iowa to be considered 'in market'," then that's exactly what the Twins will do. Twins executives will (and have) tried to pass the buck on this issue. They've told fans to contact our cable companies. They've told us it's a MLB office issue. I even had Dave St. Peter tell me once that I should contact my representatives in Congress. Yes, as incredible as it is to believe, it almost felt like he was suggesting I write my Congressman to urge him to do something about baseball's anti-trust exemption. But it is the Twins' issue, as much as they want to claim it isn't. If they felt it was important enough to them to expand their fan base further in to Iowa and that the way to do that would be to allow us to watch their games on MLB.tv, they simply could refuse to have Iowa included in the blackout area. That might cost them a few bucks in their media deal with FSN, but that's a decision the Twins are making. It IS their call, in the end. No matter what Mr. St. Peter claims. But the influence of regional sports networks is increasing, not decreasing, as MLB relies more and more on the money from that source. That being the case, I'll be surprised if there aren't wider blackout areas, rather than narrower. There's some hope, perhaps. If you haven't been following the fiasco related to the Dodgers' new local rights deal, you should Google it. They are now on a RSN that most Los Angeles cable companies refuse to carry because of the enormous fees that company wants to charge the cable carriers. So Dodger fans in Pasadena and elsewhere can't watch Dodger games. It's hard to imagine baseball allowing that situation to continue. It's a crazy mixed up world. Covering the Cedar Rapids Kernels for MetroSportsReport.comwhile my alter-ego, Jim Crikket, opines about the Twins and Kernels at Knuckleballsblog.com. ~You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant~

Yeah that baseball academy/dorm looks like it will be pretty sweet in Ft Myers.

It was good talking to you in FtM, Steve. Re: Melo... I like that they're still working with Melotakis in the rotation. I still believe that any pitcher who shows an ability to start should be used that way in the minors until they prove they simply can't do it OR until they reach the upper levels and it becomes clear that they are on the MLB doorstep and will be used in the pen there. A starter in the minors just gets to throw so many more innings than a reliever does and when you're working on being a better pitcher, there's no substitute for pitching more innings in game situations. With the innings limit they put on these guys, there's a good chance they'll see some bullpen time by the end of the season anyway. Re: Jorge... I'm always more concerned about the hit tool than the defense tool (with the possible exception of catcher) in low level minor leaguers. I'll need to be convinced that SS is where Polanco ends up, because I just didn't see that in his arm last year. That said, he looked stronger to me in ST (as did most of last year's Kernels, frankly), so I'm glad the Twins aren't giving up on him there. But I think he can be one of those rare middle infielders with legit hitting abilities, for average and for power. If he does that from the 2B position, it's fine with me. If he can do it from SS, that's a huge bonus.

I hesitate to do this kind of thing, because I have to cover some of these guys. I won't include anyone with the Kernels or likely to be promoted here this summer, but there are some guys in A+ and above I'm anxious to find out what kind of years they have. Breakout: As has been stated, there are all sorts of possibilities. I'm going with Travis Harrison. He's still young for his level, but I can't imagine he'll be outworked. I like the fact that he's going to be playing 3B and the outfield. You don't know where he will eventually be needed, so having him at least know his way around a few positions seems wise. I'm hoping for a big year. Comeback: I always struggle with a "comeback" category because I don't know what the critieria are supposed to be. That said, I'm hoping Nate Roberts bounces back well, so I'll go with him. I admit that it's a little tough to see where he's going to get innings based on the rest of the guys on that roster. I also have hopes that fellow Iowan BJ Hermsen will have a comeback year, though his results in ST weren't all that encouraging. Relief pitcher: So many possibilities. I'll say Deolis Guerra, though AJ Achter would be a close second. Starting pitcher: Most of the highest prospects are in Cedar Rapids, Extended ST or knocking on the Twins door at Rochester. I'll take a flyer on Mason Melotakis. He was fiddling with offspeed grips most of the summer last year and didn't seem to find one that worked until he had just about reached his innings limit. If he's got one he likes now, I'll be interested to see how he does out of the gate in the FSL. Hitter: Agree with others that it's Buxton, then everyone else. In the everyone else category, I'll buck the "favorites" and suggest that Jorge Polanco could flash more power and become among the best all-around hitters in the Twins minor league organization not named Buxton or Sano.

Here ya go JB. I sent this out via Twitter Tuesday. (Obviously, you need to start following me on Twitter!) Looking at the weather forecast, I do think these guys are going to appreciate the parkas over the next 4 days in CR, as well as their road trip next week in to Michigan. JimCrikket‏@JimCrikketApr 1Hard to tell these are baseball players pic.twitter.com/dx7OObuuOr 6:07 PM - 1 Apr 2014 · Details

There are a few parkas visible in a couple of those pictures, but it turned out that I took some pictures with my phone and some with my camera and the only ones with good pics of the parkas were on my phone, but the camera pics were easiest/quickest to get uploaded. So, yeah, write that off to me being lazy Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. You're right about the lodging situation in CR. The Kernels have a robust "host family" program under which any player who would like to be placed with a family can do so, without charge (the no-charge part is, from what I hear, a bit unique compared to a lot of other communities that have host family programs). My understanding is that the Twins only cover a couple nights of hotel lodging upon arrival in town. The coordinator of CR's program was in Fort Myers last week meeting with players and attempting to make the best matches between families and players. (For example, he'd try to make sure players with limited English-speaking abilities get placed with bi-lingual hosts.)

I'm sure Jake was glad to see me leave Fort Myers at the end of last week so he'd have a few days without me bugging him before they arrived here in CR this week. Great article, Seth, and thanks for the great write-up on Cedar Rapids. I'm admittedly partial to my hometown of the past 35+ years. I would never claim it's the most exciting place to spend time, but I'm OK with that as long as we've got the Kernels to follow all summer.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php/2807-Meeting-the-2014-Cedar-Rapids-Kernels

OK. I didn't recall seeing Hamburger last week, but I honestly didn't specifically look for him, either, so I didn't mention him.

This is the 3rd year I've "adopted" James Beresford, a 25 year old, left-handed hitting middle infielder from Glen Waverly, Australia. Here's what I wrote, by way of introduction, when I first adopted him in 2012: I first recall seeing Australian James Beresford playing for the Beloit Snappers in 2009 during a game here in Cedar Rapids against the Kernels. He looked a lot like most of the middle infielders we see coming through the Class Low-A Midwest League… that is to say, he looked a lot like any kid you might expect to see on a local high school diamond. He was still with the Snappers a year later when they made their first trip of the season to play the Kernels and it was during one of those games that James really caught my eye. He hadn’t grown a lot over the offseason, but he certainly didn’t play the field like many high school kids I’d seen… or many minor leaguers I’d seen, for that matter. In a single game, I saw him turn a very difficult double play from his shortstop position and make a play deep in the hole to his right and make a leaping/turning throw to first base for an out. Since that time, I’ve continued to keep an eye on Beresford during my annual trips to Spring Training and as he’s worked his way up the ladder within the Twins organization. He’s filled out a bit and while he definitely needs to start driving the ball harder, his batting average has been fine for a middle infielder over the past couple of seasons. He’s off to a bit of a slow start with the stick in New Britain this season, where he’s been playing second base, and with the Twins adding Levi Michael through the draft last year and attempting to convert promising prospect Eddie Rosario in to a second baseman, James is going to have to continue stepping up his game to stay ahead of those guys in the Twins’ middle infield pecking order. But he's still only 23 years old and, from what I’ve seen, he has the work ethic to do just that. He’s also the kind of young man that it’s easy to root for. You can follow James on Twitter at @JamesBeresford2 In 2013, James split his time pretty evenly between New Britain and Rochester. For the whole season, he hit .306 and reached base at a .363 clip. He played 2B in all but six games (4 at SS, 2 at 3B), but remains capable of playing all three positions. That versatility is likely to remain critical for James, since his best shot at a big league debut will be as a utility player. This is the second year that James has been eligible to elect minor league free agency and has chosen to re-sign with the Twins organization. It's also the second year he received an invitation to Major League spring training as a non-roster invite. However, it was the first spring that he actually got to show the Twins staff what he could do, since last year he was only in camp a few days before he left to represent his home country in the WBC tournament. He saw time at all three infield positions during his time with the big club. Obviously, with Danny Santana and Deibinson Romero also in Rochester, James is likely to once again predominantly play 2B.

Maybe I'm looking at this wrong, but is it possible the Twins simply don't have their "restricted" players in camp as a matter of policy? Did you see Gallant there? I don't think he was showing up until after teams broke camp. That would honestly make sense to me. ST is about figuring out who should open the season on what roster. Guys who have to sit 50 games will have plenty of time to get ready and be evaluated starting April 1, after the full-season teams have left. Guess I'm just not sure I even expected to see Rosario. The "excused absence" was possibly just a way of telling the media "he's not here and we're ok with that."

The way things are looking, you might have been able to see the entire 4 game series by getting here Saturday morning. Thursday looks like rain/low 40s. Friday looks like rain-snow/upper 30s. Since Clinton doesn't return to CR again in the first half of the season, they'll likely try to do whatever they can to get all 4 games played. Otherwise, they'd probably have to play postponed games at Clinton in a few weeks. Hope you can make it down here at some point.

Tweeted by Kernels play by play guy, Morgan Hawk: Morgan Hawk‏@Morgan_Hawk57 mins@CRKernels rotation for opening series with the @LumberKings: THUR: Aaron Slegers, FRI: Randy Rosario, SAT: Ryan Eades, SUN: Kohl Stewart They have a travel day on Monday as they head to Great Lakes. Pitching coach Ivan Arteaga said last night they'd use a 5-man rotation the first couple weeks with the fifth and sixth starters (Jorge and Sulbaran) piggy-backing to split game 5. Of course, with the weather forecast for Thursday and Friday in CR, this is all very much "tentative."

I kind of think this is largely what I feel, too, though I would say "hopeful" would be a bit strong to describe my feelings. But the part about this year being somewhat what I was hoping for last year isn't far off. Last year, I wanted the FO to go get more starting pitching. They were a year late honoring my request. Last year, I wanted to see Gibson, Hicks and Arcia really step up and turn their potential in to results. That didn't happen to the degree I had hoped, but maybe this year the results will be better. I'm not ready to say I'm hopeful, but I'm open to being convinced.

It was "Meet the Kernels Night" at Veterans Mermorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids Tuesday night, giving local fans and media a first look at the 2014 version of the Twins' Class A Midwest League affiliate and giving the Kernels players their first look at chilly Iowa April temperatures. After the media portion of the event, players and coaches mingled with fans on the concourse to chat and sign autographs. Then, they shed their parkas for a brief workout. The cold temperatures meant a pretty small turnout from the public and that's unfortunate, but understandable. The more unfortunate fact is that the weather forecast for Opening Night on Thursday (and Friday, for that matter) makes the proposition of actually getting baseball played a little dicey. A year ago, it seemed like the weather was forcing doubleheaders every week for the first couple of months across the Midwest League and I wouldn't be surprised if we start the season with a twin-bill (or two) over the weekend, as well. Manager Jake Mauer, along with hitting coach Tommy Watkins and pitching coach Ivan Arteaga met with media for a few minutes, as did four members of the new Kernels roster: Kohl Stewart, Aaron Slegers, Mitch Garver and Chad Christensen. They all arrived in the media room wearing their newly-issued Cedar Rapids Kernels parkas. Nothing says "play ball" like new team parkas and portable gas heaters in the dugout! The field staff and players that met with the media had some interesting things to say and I'll try to write a follow up story with quotes later this week. I did ask Arteaga about his plans for the rotation, specifically about whether he planned to use a six-man rotation again this year, as pitching coach Gary Lucas had in 2013. Arteaga explained that that's pretty much an organizational approach to young pitchers in order to protect their arms. He did add, however, that for the first couple of weeks, they were likely to use a five-man rotation, with a piggy-backing of their fifth and sixth starting pitchers in game 5 next week. Miguel Sulbaran is not yet stretched out to the point where he needs to be to start, so he'll split games with another pitcher the first couple of times through the rotation. Within a couple of weeks, however, Arteaga believes they'll be on track with the six-man rotation. Other than that bit of "news," you'll just have to be satisfied with getting a little sense of flavor of the evening from a few pictures. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ArteagaWatkinsMauer.jpg Left to Right: pitching coach Ivan Arteaga, hitting coach Tommy Watkins, manager Jake Mauer http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Stewart.jpg Kohl Stewart http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Slegers.jpg Aaron Slegers http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Garver.jpg Mitch Garver http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Christensen.jpg Chad Christensen http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/JakeMauer1.jpg Jake Mauer http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/IntroNightDugout2.jpg Kernels prepare for introductions http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/KernelsIntro.jpg Kernels introduced

The Kernels have announced their Opening Day roster, as posted on their web site: Pitchers [TABLE=class: dataTableClass] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Brandon Bixler[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Hudson Boyd[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Ryan Eades[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Dallas Gallant (restricted) [/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Felix Jorge [/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Yorman Landa[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Josue Montanez[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Alex Muren[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Brandon Peterson[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Christian Powell[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Randy Rosario[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Aaron Slegers[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Kohl Stewart[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Miguel Sulbaran[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Catchers [TABLE=class: dataTableClass] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Bo Altobelli[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Mitch Garver[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Michael Quesada[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Infielders [TABLE=class: dataTableClass] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Chad Christensen[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Bryan Haar[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Joel Licon[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Tanner Vavra[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Engelb Vielma[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Logan Wade[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Outfielders [TABLE=class: dataTableClass] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Zach Granite[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Zach Larson[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: left]Jeremias Pineda[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

What none of the pitch potting technology will tell you is where the catcher was set up for each pitch. If, as Gardenhire and Gibson both seem to indicate, he was consistently "yanking" pitches toward the outside and missing the catcher's mitt when it was set up inside, he wasn't likely to get the outside corner call even if the pitch did catch the corner. Until we replace umpires with technology on ball/strike calls, that's probably not going to change. Gibson being able to consistently put the ball where he wants it, combined with having catchers who get lower in the crouch, could be huge for Gibson's success.

I'd assume the "A-" level is "short-season A" and the Twins don't have a team at that level. They use Elizabethton as their top "short season" club. In a very real sense, the Twins seem to use E-town as their "short-season A" level. When you take that in to consideration, I don't think the Twins treat there college pitchers much different than other teams do. I think the unusual thing we'll be seeing this year is just how many YOUNG pitchers, both HS guys drafted last year and international pitchers not yet 20 years old, find their way in to the Kernels rotation this summer.

The final week of spring training is a big week for the new batch of Kernels getting ready to head north to Cedar Rapids. On Thursday, four days before the Kernels will break camp in Fort Myers and head north, the roster for the Kernels still included 29 names. That’s four more than the 25 players that will make up the club’s Opening Day roster. That means at least four of the current group being managed by Jake Mauer on the back fields of the Lee County Sports Complex will be staying behind for Extended Spring Training in Fort Myers. On top of that, each of the other levels in the Twins organization, from the Major League club through each of the three minor league levels above the Kernels, all also were a few players over their Opening Day limits. As players at higher levels get “sent down,” they can bump other players down to the next lower level, as well. After Thursday’s game with the Red Sox’ Class A affiliate, I spoke briefly with a pair of potential Kernels who, while similar in age, demonstrate two different perspectives as they prepare to open the 2014 season. Catcher Michael Quesada was drafted as a 20-year-old by the Twins in the 24th round of the 2010 Amateur Player Draft out of Sierra College in Rocklin, California. He played only three games in 2010 after signing with the Twins and has spent the past three years moving step-by-step up the organizational ladder. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/P3260165-3-475x600.jpg Michael Quesada Quesada spent most of the 2013 season with the Kernels, getting in to 62 games while sharing catching duties with a number of other backstops that passed through the Kernels roster during the year. He didn’t set the world on fire with the bat, but improved his game-calling behind the plate and showed off a strong arm. A week ago, Quesada was getting an opportunity to work with the Twins’ Class AA group,. But as catchers on the Major League side of the camp were sent down, setting off the natural chain reaction at the minor league levels, Quesada was likewise destined to drop a rung. However, instead of dropping one rung, to the Class high-A Miracle, Quesada was returned to the same Kernels roster he was part of last season and where it appears he's likely to open the season alongside other returning players, such as infielder Joel Licon and pitcher Hudson Boyd, among others. If the drop bothers Quesada, he doesn’t let it show. Rather, he talks of appreciating the opportunity to see how things are done at a higher level in the organization, while looking forward to starting another season with the Kernels. “Yeah, it was a good experience just to see more mature players, how they handle themselves,” said Quesada. “I’m just coming back (to Cedar Rapids), looking to play as much as possible and get (at-bats). I had a great time in Cedar Rapids last year, so I’m real excited to come back. It’s going to be a good time.” Despite being less than a year younger than Quesada, infielder/outfielder Chad Christensen has just started his professional career. Christensen was drafted by the Twins in the 25th round of last year’s Amateur Draft and played just 47 games for the Twins’ lowest rookie level team in the Gulf Coast League following the end of his senior season at the University of Nebraska. Typically, a player like Christensen would be targeted to spend the next couple of months in Extended Spring Training before joining the Twins’ Appalachian League squad in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Then, depending upon performance, he could work his way up to the Kernels later in the summer. But Christensen, who attended Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, is still a part of the Kernels group just four days before camp breaks and is squarely in the mix for one of the final spots on the Opening Day roster with the Kernels. That would mean spending 2014 playing before friends and family in his hometown. Kernels manager Jake Mauer has said he’d like to have the flexibility that a player like Christensen brings to the table. Mauer indicated he’d have no qualms about playing Christensen at either corner outfield position, either corner infield position, or even at shortstop on occasion. Nonetheless, Christensen is well aware that his roster spot with the Kernels is precarious and he’s still got work to do over the final few days of spring training in order to nail down that spot. “I’m still trying to do what I can to make this team so that’s kind of where I’m at,” Christensen said on Thursday. “(Playing in Cedar Rapids) would be real exciting, I grew up there and everything. It would be a lot of fun to come home.” Some athletes have been known to struggle with playing at the professional level in their hometown, but Christensen doesn’t believe he’ll feel an extra pressure from playing in Cedar Rapids, if and when that opportunity arises. “No, I’m not so concerned about that,” he said. “Just trying to keep focused on the field and separate the baseball from the friends and family. I’ll be excited about it.” A year ago, the Kernels were at or near the top of the Midwest League in almost every offensive category. But the hitters that made up the heart of the batting order a year ago have all moved up at least one level entering the new season and Quesada allowed that this year’s Kernels will take a different approach to win games. “We’re not really trying to match (the 2013 Kernels hitters)," acknowledged Quesada. “We’re just trying to put more runs up on the board (than the opponent) that day. Maybe it’s two, maybe it’s one. But no, we don’t have the offense of last year, but our pitching is going to win us ballgames.” The Kernels pitching corps is expected to include a number of the Twins organization’s top young arms during the course of the 2014 season and Quesada is clearly impressed with the pitchers he’s been working with. “The pitching staff is going to be less experienced, but with way better stuff. They’re going to have live arms, young guys that are learning how to pitch. It’s our job, myself and (fellow catchers) Mitch Garver, Bo Altobelli and (pitching coach) Ivan Arteaga to teach them. They’re definitely good throwers right now, but they have a big opportunity to turn in to some serious pitchers. I’m really excited to work with them.” Quesada’s work this spring extends beyond the field, as a number of those young pitchers are from Latin America, which can present a communication challenge for a catcher. “I’m working with Ivan right now to get my Spanish a little better to where I can go out to the mound and talk to them, so they’re comfortable. I’m trying to make their lives as easy as possible because it’s going to be a fun pitching staff to work with.” Thursday was likely my final look at the Kernels in spring training. I'm planning to go to the Twins/Red Sox game on Friday afternoon and, alas, my flight home from not-so-sunny-but-warmer-than-home Florida is early Saturday morning.

Mauer indicated they will be going with a 6 man rotation again, thus the 13 man pitching staff to start the season anyway. Sulbaran is with the Kernels group and threw 2 innings of relief yesterday. That doesn't mean he won't be in the rotation, of course, since right now they're just trying to get guys innings of work any way they can. He said there was still a decision or two to be made with the pitchers, but I think Seth's projected rotation would be the same for me, including Stewart.