Paul Pleiss

I'm with JustcallupSano, the worst thing about Ron Gardenhire is Rick Anderson.

AAAron Hicks is ready to do his thing in AAA, again. I think he can figure it out this time around and hopefully find himself back in the big leagues this September. Lots of talent. just needs to put it together. I would hate to see him become the next Joe Benson.

Losing the the Padres is bad. Losing the the Padres at home is worse. Losing to the Padres, at home, when you've got the lead going into the 9th inning is the worst.

Seth, you spend a lot of time going over hitter and pitcher of the month/year down in the minors. Does anyone at Twins Daily do the same for the guys with the big league ball club?

I'm really glad the Twins are locked up with Cedar Rapids for the forseeable future. Good place to have the Twins affiliate. Maybe tough on the kids with long bus rides, but a solid facility and a class act down in CR. Iowans don't have much going for them, might as well give them a reason to wake up and get out of bed each summer.

You can't coach speed, and you can't teach a guy to throw 100. I'm glad the Twins went out and made a splash to sign this Poulson guy. Great story. Even if he never goes anywhere, he's already the most exciting pitcher in Elizabethon this season.

If May or Meyer is not the Saturday starter I may have to write to my congressman to have TR removed by act of congress.

Alex Meyer will never pitch in Minnesota becasue TR and the rest in the front office are worried about "consistency" and a bunch of other junk that doesn't matter. Meyer is 25, he knows how to pitch, Bring him up. What's the advantage to letting him continue to throw innings in AAA? We know he can do that. Can he do it at the MLB level? It's time to find out.

Matt Crapps is the straw that broke my back concerning Bill Smith. He's done a great job overseeing the improvements down in Ft. Myers; let's hope he continues to do great non-baseball player related things.

Even in Diamond never does another good thing with a baseball it's still time for the end of the Rick Anderson era in Minnesota. And I agree, if that means Gardy has to go, then good bye fellas. And I know TR thinks if Gardy goes, he should go to, so the Twins might as well clear it all out and bring in some new blood. Whatever it takes to get rid of Rick Anderson is a thing that I support. Even if it means bringing back Drew Butera. Not sure how that really plays into it, but I'd take sweet Drew over that Rick Anderson every day and twice on Sundays.

TBD is pitching for the Twins on Saturday. Sure would be fun to see Alex Meyer be that guy for Minnesota and not be pitching in Indy.

If Dazzle Dan was the manager on this team, would they have more or fewer wins than they do under Ronnie G? I like what Dazzle has to say, and I'd supoort him putting the cleats back on and joinging the coaching staff. Plus he'd be off the radio, and a color guy who actually tells you what's going on in the game might be hired in his place.

Like Doc, I've been waiting, and waiting... and waiting for Santana to fail. It's just not happening. Sort of like how I've been waiting for Joe Mauer to turn back into Joe Mauer. i'm not sure that this season is indictive of how either player will play next season and into the future, but I've stopped waiting for Danny Santana to fail. I like what he's doing, and am just happy to see someone in a Twins uniform playing well, having fun and smiling. He's been a great addition to the top of the lineup, and plays a servicable CF while the Twins wait for anyone resembling a true CF to emerge at the higher levesl of the system or via FA/trade/waiver claim etc. Danny Santana, I tip my hat to you.

If you're not first, you're last. This guy was first. First to the ball, and first in my heart. Reminds me of a spry Giles Ferrell.

Lots of great replies here. I sincerly hope to see May by the 15th, fingers crossed. Meyer I'd be more cautious with, and I really like the idea of bringing him up to work some innings out of the pen, just to get him som MLB experience.

And man was that a fun trade-deadline.

Gonzo, I hope the Twins can move a few more pieces before the waiver deadline to bring back something for the future of the organization, but I'm not sure anyone is playing good enough to bring anything of value. Maybe Hammer heats up and Burton continues to not-suck, but Correia and Deduno aren't going anywhere.

Trevor May is ready for the call. When will he arrive? By the end of next week? The first of September? What else does he have to prove? And Alex Meyer too, despite any reports of him being on an innings limit. Both players are 24+ and need to come up and see if they can perform. It can't hurt the team to bring them up and see what they can do against big league hitters, this team isn't going anywhere (except maybe, into the gutter).

I'm not sure Deduno will even be back with the club next season. He's a good mop-up guy, but his inconsistency keeps him from being effective. He's wild, puts men on base, and while he has good movement on his pitches, I'm not sure anyone knos where they're going. I have a near hatred for 2014 Jared Burton, but I'd rather bring him into a close game than Deduno. Sammy D, thanks for the memories.

No dilemma. If Joe Mauer is on the active roster and I'm down by a run with a runner on 2nd, bottom of the 9th with 2 outs, I want Joe Mauer up to bat. A patented Joe Mauer single scores a run. That's what he does. This may be a lost season, but it's too soon to think it's a lost career. He may yet be shaking long term effects from his concussion, or back issues. Joe Mauer, I expect, will return to being Joe Mauer. Would you have rather the Twins let Joe Mauer walk instead of signing his extension? I would have seriously considered finding a new franchise to follow had that happened. I'm happy to have Joe on this ball club, even if he's injured and having a down season. There aren't many players in baseball hitting .270 or better, and Joe's clearly getting more money that his on field value this season, but signing him was the right move for the organization. At this point the money doesn't matter, it's already spent.

Under Gardy the last few years we have seen the Twins collapse in September. I see no reason not to expect the same this season. The Twins have a very good chance of ending up with a top-5 pick again, and could lose their way into the top 3 without too much bad luck.

great idea. 6-man rotation gets more arms chances to throw against MLB competetion and more rest for guys coming back from injury. No sense throwing guys out there every 5 days just to watch the team lose 90 games. More arms, more rest, more better.

The shift is a neat idea, and against some hitters, it's a useful tool. I don't think it should be illegal, and I don't think it slows down the game. If you're worried about length of game, make the batter stay in the box like they do in MiLB and have the umpires enforce delay of game on pitchers. The shift doesn't make games longer. The idea of shifting OFers around for different hitters is, I think, a good idea, especially when you have a Revere/Delmon LF/RF situation, or something like that. Good idea, and something I'd be much more in favor of than the shift. That being said, back to my original point, I think the shift is useful, and when deployed correctly it helps stop some hits. Not sure how much it does, or if the shift has any type of staying power in the league, but it's here now until hitters begin to adjust. Could that be a generational thing while we wait for more players with better bat control to come through systems and big power bashers who strike out all the time to retire? Let them play where they will defensively.

Originally posted at PuckettsPond.com Download attachment: A6i8gT0CYAArTnm.jpg In my last Down on the Pond post I took a look at how the Twins players were doing down in the Arizona Fall League. Rather than look at how they're doing now, or even taking a look at the guys who are playing Winter Ball around the Southern Hemisphere, I thought I'd share some photos that players throughout the Twins system posted to the Twitter machine and use that as a jumping off point to talk about some of the guys that are toiling down in the Twins system who you may not have heard of. We'll start first with a pre-Halloween trick. Hurricane Sandy ( or Post-tropical Cyclone, as the hipsters are calling it) was not kind to Twins AAA reliever Bobby Lanigan (@BOBBYLANIGAN). Sandy flooded his street, took his car for a ride and totaled it in the process. I hope the insurance claim comes quick and that Bobby and his family are safe and dry. Lanigan finished the season 7-5 across AA New Britain and AAA Rochester throwing just over 70 innings on the season out of the bullpen in 44 appearances. He finished the season with an ERA over 4, and struck out only 49 batters to go along with a WHIP (walks+hits per inning pitched) of 1.373. At 25 and in his first season in AAA there still may be some hope for the young righty, but his numbers over his minor league career are not much better. This was his first season working out of the pen so it will be interesting how he fairs in a full season at AAA in 2013. I typically have no idea what Manuel Soliman (@SOLIMAN30)is tweeting because everything is in Spanish, and even though I could quickly translate using google or Tweetdeck, I'm generally not that interested. But here's a photo he tweeted a couple days ago that I thought was pretty awesome. Soliman signed with the Twins as a non-drafted free agent in 2007 and in 2009 converted from third base to pitcher. The move worked well and lead the Elizabethon Twins in strikeouts in 2010 (74). In 2012 Soliman threw only 5.0 innings after having been moved up to Ft Myers after a successful 2011 in Beloit. He had shoulder surgery early in the season and the Twins will be cautious with him as he makes his return. He may lose his "prospect" status if 2013 is not a big year for the young righty. Download attachment: Pucketts Pond.jpg James Beresford put up this photo on his twitter (@JamesBeresford2) that golfers around the world will recognize as the result of not hitting your tee-shot past the ladies tee. Beresford was promoted to New Britain last off-season and played second base and shortstop for the Rock Cats to the tune of .266/.330/.314 (AVG/OBP/SLG) in 114 games and committed only 10 errors in 491 chances, but 9 of those errors were at SS where he played just over half of his games. While those offensive numbers are nothing to write home about, the Twins would have done well for themselves in 2012 had they had a big league SS who could have put up similar numbers. Daniel Rohlfing (@DanRohlfing), who replaced fellow AA catcher Chris Herrmann in the Arizona Fall League last week, posted this absolute GEM of a photo featuring all of the Twins AFL prospects sporting mustaches like their fellow Twins prospect Nate Roberts. Rohlfing played 91 games between A+ and AA this season and spent most of his time behind the plate but also saw a handful of games in the outfield. Rohlfing is not a monster at the plate, in fact he's rather more Drew Buteraish, as his slash line in 2012 across both levels was .235/.295/.311, but he did show skill behind the plate as a defensive catcher, throwing out 37% of would-be base-stealers. Alex Wimmers (@AlexWimmers21) does not hand out candy, he just puts out a bucket for the tricker-treaters to take what they want. He also carved a pumpkin. Wimmers pitched in only 2 games in 2012 and spent most of the year trying to rehab an elbow injury to avoid surgery. He will likely miss most of, if not all, of 2013 as he recovers from Tommy John surgery performed this past August. Can the former 2-time Big Ten pitcher of the year come back and be successful in a Twins uniform? All we (and he) can do at this point is wait and hope. The Twins 16th round pick in 2011, Austin Malinowski (@A_Mali24) carved a TC pumpkin for his doorstep. Malinowski pitched 31.2 innings for the Twins rookie league Gulf Coast Twins and struck out 32 batters while walking only 11 batters in his first year of professional baseball, but he did give up 35 hits as well. Mali was drafted out of high school and has a long road ahead of him to make it up to the big leagues. P.J. Walters (@PJwalters33) who recently signed a minor league contract with the Twins after being removed from the 40-man roster last week is dressed as one of the Avengers and is off to save the world. (Editor's note: He looks a little too much like Thor. By the Eye Of Zeus!) Walters made 12 starts for the Twins last year posting a 5.69 ERA (gave up 41 runs (39 earned) in just 61.2 innings!). Prior to his promotion he was 3-3 in 14 starts for the Rochester Red Wings with an ERA just a tick over four (4.01). Walters will join the Twins in spring training this spring. Hopefully Terry Ryan and the front office bring in some better starters via trade of free agency or Twins fans may be getting more Walters in their lives and I don't foresee that being good for anyone. That's all for this week, I hope you all had a Happy Halloween full of treats and welcomed the Great Pumpkin into your hearts once more. __________________ Follow @BaseballPirate on Twitter Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Kyle Gibson_600_321.jpg This post originally appeared at puckettspond.com. The Twins sent seven of their minor league players to the Arizona Fall League that kicked off earlier this month. The AFL is a 6-team league in which several teams each send a handful of their prospects to form a team. The Twins players play for the Peoria Javelinas (a 40-80 pound skunk pig, for those of you who are curious you can check out the wiki page) which includes players from the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres and the Seattle Mariners. The AFL is typically offense-heavy as teams are fairly stingy when it comes to sending top level arms to get more work and expose them to injury. If you do see MLB quality arms, they are typically coming back from injury and hoping to log some innings, like the Twins' Kyle Gibson. This year the Twins sent Evan Bigley (AAA right-fielder), Logan Darnell (AA Left-handed starting pitcher), Kyle Gibson (AAA Right-handed starting pitcher), Chris Herrmann (AA catcher who made his MLB debut late this season), Nate Roberts (Low-A outfielder), Caleb Thielbar (AAA Left-handed reliever) and Michael Tonkin (High-A Right-handed relief pitcher). Let's take a closer look at how each of the Twins selections have faired after a couple of weeks in Arizona. Kyle Gibson has been the most impressive of all the Twins prospects in the AFL, and maybe the most impressive in the AFL. Gibson has made three starts and is 3-0 with a shiny .069 ERA and 19 strike-outs in 13 innings of work. 14 games into the young AFL season Gibson leads the league in innings pitched and strike-outs and of the 35 pitchers who have logged more than 7.0 innings, only Seth Blair (St. Louis) and C.J. Riefenhauser (Tampa Bay) have given up less earned runs. If Gibson continues to pitch like this well and his arm continues to progress from surgery it will be hard to keep him out of the Twins rotation next spring. Download attachment: down-on-the-pond.1-300x180.jpg Nate Roberts has been the Twins brightest star on the offensive side of the game. Roberts has seen action in 6 games and is 9 for 17 w/ 3 extra-base hits and 5 walks, his slash line is an impressive .529/.640/1.346!!! Obviously this is a small sample size, but things look bright for Nate Roberts who will most likely start next season in high-A Ft Myers after repeating a second season in low-A Beloit. Chris Herrmann has also done well at the dish down in Arizona, but in an even smaller sample size. Herrmann has only played in 3 games so far, but is 5 for 10 in limited action. Herrmann is hampered by the Javelinas' roster which also contains uber catching prospect Mike Zunino (SEA) and fellow catcher Tommy Joseph (PHI). Update: Chris Herrmann has injured his left shoulder and has been replaced by AA catcher Dan Rohlfing. The injury is to his non-throwing shoulder and is believed to bemild in nature. Rohlfing started the season in Ft Myers before moving up to New Britain and hit .235/.295/.311 across both leagues in 2012. Thanks to Twins prospect guru, Seth Stohs of Twins Daily, for the news. Michael Tonkin has had four appearances for the Javelinas this season and has yet to give up a run, earned or otherwise, in his 5.1 innings of work while striking out 4 and walking just a single batter. Tonkin struck out almost 13 batters per 9 between low/high-A in 2012 and his ability to get out high-caliber batters in the AFL is very good news. It will be interesting to see if Tonkin has earned a promotion to AA to start 2013 or if he starts in high-A where he posted a sub-3.00 ERA in 30+ innings. Logan Darnell has also appeared in 4 games for Peoria and has done well for himself. Darnell spent all of 2012 w/ AA New Britain where he made 28 starts and logged 156 innings but was less than spectacular striking out well under a batter per inning and giving up nearly 1.3 HR/9. In his 6.2 innings of work in the AFL Darnell has given up only 2 runs (both earned) and 7 hits to go with 5 K's and 2 BB's. Caleb Thielbar has been, to be nice, less than spectacular. In 5.1 innings of work Thielbar has given up 8 runs (all earned) and has a fancy 13.50 ERA to show for it. The good news is that although he gave up 4 runs in each of his first 2 appearances, he's kept batters in check during his last 3 appearances allowing only a single hit and no walks in 3.0 innings of work. Thielbar, who started the year in Ft Myers before getting called up to AA New Britain and eventually AAA Rochester had a strong season and finished w/ a 2.43 ERA between all three levels, helped in large part to 12.1 innings in Ft Myers where he gave up only 1 run (unearned). It will be interesting to see what Thielbar's future is with the Twins, who picked up Thielbar from the Saint Paul Saints after the 2011 season. Evan Bigley rounds out the Twins seven selections to the AFL, and his performance has been unimpressive to date. In 7 games of work Bigley has managed to hit only 5 for 29, has struck out 6 times and has yet to take a walk. His slash like is scary bad, .172/.241/.441. Bigley hit .268 for the Rock Cats before getting moved up to AAA to join the Red Wings where he hit just .251/.289/.409. Bigley will need to turn things around in a big way if he wants to stay in the Twins organization as anything other than an organizational guy, especially as the Twins farm system is full of high-value OF prospects. This may be Bigley's last big chance to impress the brass in Minnesota. __________________ Follow @BaseballPirate on Twitter Click here to view the article