Paul Pleiss

I don't think Hicks needs to stop switch-hitting, he just needs to be less selective when he gets two strikes. His walk rate this season is great, up almost 10% from his career rate and he's getting on base more than 30% of the time despite a terrible BABIP as a lefty. Yes, his BA looks terrible, but I think when you get beyond that things aren't nearly as bad as the BA would lead you to believe.

C: Suzuki continues his hot start to the season, Pinto is back to mashing the ball, no need to wait for anyone to step up, both players are already performing 1B: Joe Mauer is going to Joe Mauer, be patient and enjoy watching a future HOF'er hit the baseball (or walk and not hit the baseball, as he is want to do) 2B: If you're waiting for Brian Dozier to turn back into a pumpkin, don't hold your breath. 3B: Plouffe has cooled off considerably since his hot start, but I'd still take the player he is this year over last year and everything before that except for his HR month in 2012. SS: Eduardo Escobar has stepped up at SS, seeing him out there everyday should be expected unless he forgets how to hit a baseball or throw to first base. DH: Kubel/Colabello are both slumping, hard. When Nunez is getting reps at DH I start having nightmares from back when everyone's favorite #3 catcher, Drew Butera, got reps at DH. I think both have value as a bench bat, but neither should be the everyday DH unless than can start performing similiar to their early season success. I'd recommend Gardy put Pinto at DH when he's not catching, and risk having to pinch-hit for a pitcher once or twice if Suzuki gets injured. OF: Anyone who can run and hold a glove is welcome to step up. C Parms is having a nice 2014 debut, let's see if it can continue. I don't think it's time to give up on Hicks, he's 24 and he's still getting on base at better than a .310 clip; yes, he needs to be more aggressive with his bat (hitting .161), but this team needs CF depth, it's not time to send him to AAA. Fuld was playing well until his concussion, hopefully he can come back and provide some depth so that Santana doesn't have to look terrible in CF when Hicks gets the day off.

Intentional or otherwise, it's important to remember the old metrodome addage "WALKS WILL HAUNT"

Kevin Correia is a likely candidate for a phantom groin injury, or some other ghostly nonexistent injury to put him on the DL. I can't imagine him staying on the roster with an ERA anywhere near 7. May and others down at AAA could do at least that poorly, while getting needed experience and providing future value

I think when Hammer is ready to come back that someone from the bullpen gets sent down. I dont think it makes sense to take another OF away from this team that needs all the OF depth it can get at this point. If you lose Hicks then Santana is your everday CF with no reaon backup option. That's not okay. Not even close to okay. Hicks continues to get on base. He's got a .310 OBP, as of this morning, i believe, so that's not awful. Give the guy some credit, and leave him on the roster. Gardy wants to get back to a 12 man staff, so I think losing a pitcher when hammer comes back makes sense. I think both Parm and Hicks should, and will, stay with the club for the forseeable future.

They don't pitch enough to win 81, or at least they haven't to this point. I don't think the run production can continue, although they have proven me wrong on this again and again this year. The pitching has to get better... right? I don't imagine Correia can stay in the rotation much longer with his ERA approaching 7. Trevor May continues to impress down in AAA, and Logan Darnell and Kris Johnson (despite his walks his last callup) are all pitching well. Even Alex Meyer, who has struggled of late, could come up and fill a slot in the rotation. What happens when Pelf's mysterious groin injury is healed?

Hicks is hitting .161 on this season, but his OBP remains above .300. For a young man who is only 24 I'm definitely not ready to think he's a bust. Maybe he should quit switch hitting, but I'm not sure that's the right solution either. He's patient, maybe too patient, but as a CF who could man the bottom half of the lineup as an OBP/Speed guy, I still like him and believe he provides value to this ball club.

Jeremy, what I'd like to see is you start predicting Twins draft picks in rounds 16-25. I'd be okay with you just making up names, as long as they are good baseball names. A prep short stop Sloppy Butterfingers would be a great grab in the 19th round, but they'd likely have to give him some extra dollar bills to keep him from attending Le Cordon Bleu cooking school where he hopes to turn his butter fingers into delicious chocolate chip cookie hands.

http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400-336x336+159+0_9577938.jpg The Twins Phil Hughes out dueled Justin Verlander in Detroit and the Twins stole the series from the Tigers. Did Phil Hughes do enough to garner this week's Pitcher of the Week?The Twins have been making roster moves left and right, call-ups, send-downs, concussion DL stints galore. We review what's been going on with the roster and what may be coming as Josh Willingham begins his rehab. Byron Buxton is back on the DL, is it time to be worried?Joe Mauer is set to overtake Kirby Puckett in career WAR, but are you ready to admit that he's a better player? We tackle that debate and more. This week's Down on the Pond profile is on Twins AAA LHP Kris Johnson. Hopefully he doesn't tear his UCL like Jose Fernandez and seemingly everyone else in baseball. Source

Enjoyed the show gentlemen, unfortunately I didn't get a chance to send you a bunch of mostly useless questions.

Winner!

What are your favorite nick names for Twins players? I find myself making up and using terrible nick names I hear from friends all the time. Some of my favorites are below: Plouffe = The French Pancake, Babe-Plouffe Chris Parmalee = C-Parms or Parmesian Cheesey Joe Mauer = Baby Jesus, Mr 2% Kurt Suzuki = Kurt's Motorcycle Shop Jason Kubel = Koooooooooooobs Ricky Nolasco = Ricky Tikki Tembo-no Sa Rembo-Chari Bar Ruchi-pip Perp Pembo Colabello = The Italian Hitman Pinto = Beans And so on. What are some of your favorites that you use with your friends or around the house?

I think we've talked about this a couple times before, but I still think waiting to make a long-term deal with Dozier is the right move. Locking him up for 5 years might seem advantageous, but I don't know that you need to do that now, before he's even reached arbitration. As you noted, he's not going to hit the FA market until 31 and there is plenty of room for regression (or maybe even progression!) between now and then, and plenty of time to secure his services if he continues to play like a stud. It might cost the Twins an extra million or two (per season) by waiting, but giving him 35mill guaranteed seems much riskier than waiting it out at least for another 9 months.

If the Twins were to sold and/or relocated mid-season to another city/state, let's say Portland, OR, would you remain a Twins fan or find a new team to root for? If you choose a new team/organization, which team, and why? I probably keep following the Twins, at least in the interim until I can settle on a new organization and get up to speed on their prospects, and the way their front office does business. I'd probably always have a soft spot for the former MN Twins, but I'd likely find a new team to root for. Being that I now live in Seattle, there's a chance I just go full blown Mariner fan and latch on, but teams like Houston, Atlanta or Washington are also intriguing to me because of the young stars and/or the respect I have for their front offices. Hell, maybe I'll even become a Marlins fan because of the heinous statue beyond CF.

Well said.

There are a lot of former Twins finding high levesl of success for other clubs, and it's not always easy to swallow that pill.

I love the Aaron Gleeman is getting the same medical treatment advice that he's been lamenting the Twins for the last couple seasons. Rest and rehab a torn ACL? Karma is a cruel mistress. Medical Insurance is a fun game.

Koobs gonna koobs, and there ain't no more to say. Well, there is, I'm sure. Kubel has value to this team as a bench bat or DH and has been one of the better defenders (dear god help me now as I type this) the last couple weeks with the Twins trotting out anyone with a pulse to play OF. He's not as terrible as Delmon in the OF, so I guess he gets a pass. It's fun cheering for KOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBS, and for a team that I think finishes well under .500, having someone fun to cheer for goes a long way.

"And then the Lord looked down from heaven and saw that what he created was good and he gave Rick Anderson dominion over all the Twins pitchers. And to Rick he said "pitch to contact" and all will be forgiven." -Anderson 1:45

I agree completely. I wasn't trying to say the trades of Span/Revere were bad moves. I liked them both individually and as key parts to what I'd call a successful off-season. It was definitely a gamble. Presley, Mastro, Fuld, may all be roughly the same player, but losing Presley and Mastro becasue of Bartlett and his "super utility" tag is a tough pill to swallow having watched the Twins throw just about anyone with a pulse out to play OF for the last week. Hopefully Buxton's wrist heals and he can get up to AA before the season runs it's course. There isn't a lot in the system between him and the Twins CF job. Hopefully Aaron Hicks can figure it out and bridge the gap (I feel like we've all be reading/saying this for awhile now...). That's a lot of hope for Bux and Hicks, but being a Twins fan these days requires a heavy dose of hope and optomism.

I keep seeing posts about this year being more fun to watch than last year. Yes, we're scoring more runs, but remember that the 2013 club was at .500 the middle of May too. The real issue with the club the last couple years has been the way they tanked the last 4-6 weeks of the season. The club might well keep a 75 win pace going till the break, but a disastrous couple weeks and a September collapse could see the club looking at another team flirting near with 100 losses. That being said, I'm feeling good about this team. I dont' know how they're going to "rebuild" with a bunch of wiley veterans getting called up and prospects breaking down left and right, but I've been pleasantly surprised by the run scoring and utterly perplexed by the pitching. Even if both normalize a bit, I think anything over 75 wins is a pipe-dream. That would require the addition of a SS who can both hit and play defense, and probably depend on the eventual MLB success of guys like Meyer and May. Having a competent compliment of OF types would also help.

I think Plouffe is a fine 3B for a team trying to figure themselves out and waiting for the future. If/When he gets expensive it'll be tough to find a spot for him. If Sano can take over the everyday 3B duties Plouffe still has a roll as a bench bat or utility guy, but only if his arb numbers dont get out of hand.

I don't like the idea of sending Colabello down, at least not yet. I agree with the majority of posters here; let CC get a couple days out of the lineup as a bench bat and see if he can't work his way out of the slump. If it continues when it's time for Hammer to return (whenever that may be...) then maybe CC has to go down, but I think it's too soon to send him down. Thrylos mentioned Chris Parmalee being ahead of CC. I'm not sure about that. I know that CP is out of options, so he'd have to clear waivers before heading to AAA; maybe not everyone would pass on him this time around with the numbers he's put up so far in AAA. Right now I'd rather lose CP than send CC to AAA, but a prolonged slump and the return of Hammer might just mean a trip to AAA for CC, who can always come back if CP turns back into a pumpkin too.

Tarheel takes a bet becasue at 1000:1, why not? I'm in for 10 cents, I found a dime while taking out the garbage last night and I'm willing to lose it for the chance at $100. Santana almost assuridly goes back down as soon as Arcia and the rest of the depleted OF corps is ready for regular playing time. I sure do love watching Santana play ball, he's so damn fast. Hopefully he can find consistency at SS down in Rochester and become a regular in the lineup for the Twins for the next couple years until an elite SS shows he's face in the Twins lineup... assuming that actually happens.