nicksaviking

Still have to think Vargas moves up with Hicks now at Ft. Myers.

Is this a game thread? I didn't know we had one today.

I agree they need to find room for Walker, but it likely was due to a space crunch. There's still only three OF spots in Ft. Myers and they likely had to chose between Walker and Williams and Williams has already spent 1 1/2 years in the Midwest league. Williams is justly deserved of a promotion aside from just the service time and the guy knows how to take a walk, something the Twins clearly love. Polanco is tough, he deserves to be moved too but Petterson and Mejia have been huge surprises at Ft. Myers and they are blocked at NB by Rosario and Santana. They are currently blocked by Escobar and Beresford at Rochester. The following is a rediculous statement: Polanco is blocked by the surprising depth of the middle infielders ahead of him. Though a special talent needs to be prioritized differently, we shouldn't forget that Arcia last year and Buxton this year were the only HS age offensive players the Twins didn't require spend a full year in Low A in a very, very long time.

They still have Walker and Polanco, who will now be 1-2 in the league in RBI along with Berrios and Harrison. They still have some pretty big names who now possibly have chips on their shoulders due watching their buddies get promoted while they stay behind.

Or traded. He had two more arbitration years left.

I am. That Gomez/Santana trade was terrible. Or were you guys talking about the other one.

How do you figure? The Twins had been interested in Liriano up until he was signed by Pittsburgh.

Rosario has been very good at 2B this year, there is no reason to think he won't stay. I'd wager had Rosario cemented his status as a 2B when the prospect rankings came out, he would have been on each and every one of them.

Four walks is too many, but really not that concerning to me considering the progress he's made. Had he only issued three walks it likely would have been considered by all a successful night for him.

Good news and about time. Both those guys are pitchers though and it's the offense you first look at with that club. Tyler Jones should have been promoted awile ago so you have to think he'll be moving. Walker and Hicks are both college guys, they likely need no more time in Low A. Williams has already spent a year and a half in this league. Polanco is young but what more could you ask for a middle infielder who is hitting the cover off the ball and has no contact issues at this point?

And even if it isn't eminantly clear, isn't it possible Liriano's problem's were not entirely on him, but perhaps those coaching and instructing him held some blame? He came up as a rookie and was lights out using a healthy dose of his slider at the expense of his fastball. He got hurt and the team asked him to stop using the slider excessively and he struggled. He signs with the Pirates and he's back to using the slider as mush as his heart desires and again the fastball is the pitch that takes a hit. The increased slider, decreased fastball did happen one other year in a Twins uniform, his seemingly resurgent 2010 season. Why they made him alter his approach the following season is puzzling. Obviously the talent has been lacking in the rotation lately, but still, if for the past half decade you have more starting pitchers underachieve than overachieve, there might be a coaching/stratagy issue.

I was never high on Roosevelt. He could knock them out of the yard but you could never get him to walk. It really hurt his OBP.

It's been said quite a bit, there havn't been too many pitchers from last year's free agent class that have impressed. However, it seems like the arms that made us scratch our heads are the ones over-performing. Many of us wanted to target Edwin Jackson, he got "overpaid" and has underperformed, though he looks like the exception. Many thought Sanchez was "overpaid" yet he is thus far pitching great (when healthy). However other smaller "overpays" are looking like good (reasonable?) deals now as well. No one was happy about Correia but he has pitched better than expected, Liriano, Feldman and Villenueva were all looked at as Twins targets until they got "overpaid" as well.

I'm guessing which ever one gets traded back to the NL.

The Rockies in the wha?!? Are you talking about in Back to the Future II? That was just make believe.

On being a buyer or seller: “I think that's evident. We're deep in these standings here. We're a long way away from .500. It's very evident we'll be in the trade mode, there's no doubt about that.” I have to say I'm happy about the honesty here. The answer is obvious to everyone and Ryan would have been torn to pieces if he answered in the opposite fashion, but generally when this question is asked a less forthcoming response is provided. I too didn't care much for the response regarding Pelfrey giving innings. In the article he said something about Diamond and his lack of innings. I don't like that this team seems to concern itself more with the quantity of innings as opposed to the quality of innings. Firstly, the bullpen is a strength, and considering what's in the system, it's deep. Secondly, it's been discussed before, the elite pitchers almost always pitch more innings anyway. One thing that I don't think has been brought up yet: "I don't think the Doziers and the Plouffes and the (Chris) Parmelees and those types of guys, they've been in here enough to the point where they ought to be comfortable and be going in the right direction." That says a lot about what kind of leash these guys have I guess. Sounds like Parmelee should be pretty worried from that comment, though considering this is a lost year, I'd personally regret Chris Davising a guy who has developing power and has shown a high BA as high as the AAA level. We are asked to be patient with the development of players in the minors but many times the team isn't patient with the development of players at the MLB level and it's stung this club many times. Regarding not blaming Gardenhire for the performance; that's at least the second time this month he has said this. Ryan is starting to paint himself into a corner about the managerial situation this off season. It's going to be hard to get rid of the guy when there are multiple quotes like this. Perhaps that's part of the intent, publicly talking himself into keeping Gardy now so that decision is basically a non-issue at season's end. Edit: Ouch, that's got to be a snoozer to read. I came back to this thing about four times as I repeatedly tried to put my kids back in bed and didn't realize the length.

I think they are talking about the Twins more than the Rockies with Cuddyer up. That can't thrill Colorado fans too much. How did I miss the bit that Cuddyer wears #3 with the Rockies to honor Harmon Killebrew. I wasn't aware of that. I want to cry.

Yeah, I regret using the words Sacred Cow, it wasn't my intention, but upon re-reading the post it sounds inflamatory. It's use likely not only irritated some, but also it took away from my intent, which was to rationally ask why others thought discussions regarding the off field staff (and on field management for that matter) illicit stronger responses than the players who we are generally more intimate with due to exposure. And this is likely some of it. A qualitative assement vs. a quantitative one.

Doogie recently spoke with Mike Radcliff about Miguel Sano. In the exchange the future of Trevor Plouffe came up. Radcliff states, "We'll deal with that. He has versatility." What versatility do you suppose the team believes Plouffe has? They've tried him at SS, 2B and the corner OF. To my knowlege and observations, they were not satisfied with the results at any of those spots. Considering what is coming up through the pipeline, SS appears to be the biggest need, but also by far the biggest stretch. Is Radcliff just ad-libbing an interview, or have the Twins had these discussions and think they have an answer? Considering Sano's ETA and the fluidity of the current team, one would think getting Plouffe time at multiple positions should occur no later than spring training 2014. Of course with choas abound at the MLB level as we speak, some positional experimentation would be interesting now. The Scoops: It's likely just a matter of time before Pekovic signs - Minnesota Wolves news | 1500 ESPN Twin Cities ? Minnesota Sports News & Opinion (Twins, Vikings, Wolves, Wild, Gophers) | Sportswire: Minnesota Timberwolves It's near the bottom after all the Timberwolves stuff.

I agree that the Rangers have screwed up with Profar, but I think their other moves were quite sound actually, having too many infielders shouldn't be an issue, they just didn't manage it very well. As far as Profar is concerned, I thought a swap of Profar or Andrus should have occured this offseason. At least a little of Profar's luster will be worn off after this season. Additionally, Profar should be a middle infielder, Dave's right, he's only a top prospect because he plays SS. Even in the minors, his offense didn't look like it would translate into anything overly exceptional. Does Ian Kinsler want to switch positions? Apparently no, but so what, it's not his decision and he's too injury prone to keep laying out for groundballs.

It's been a negative Monday for me, but I want to say for the record that I do not dislike Terry Ryan or even that he is incompetent. However I feel that he is no longer a top GM and too many of his moves (and non-moves) reflect this. I don't know why we have no problems discussing upgrades to middle infielders, starting pitchers and corner outfielders but we can not do so regarding the GM. To some Ryan seems to be a sacred cow. By all rights Justin Morneau should be revered at the same or higher level than Terry Ryan in terms of organizational fondness, yet when we discuss the decline of Morneau there is not the same level of defensiveness, even when it comes to inevitable loss of our former All-Star. Is it simply because of the position? Perhaps, but I don't know why the GM would be such a flashpoint compared to a player we watch on TV everyday.

I'll bet coming into the season Clete Thomas would have called you a liar if you told him he had a full-time starting job with a MLB team by the middle of June and that there would be little outlook of him losing it long past the All-Star break. I doubt I could find an emoticon to convey my thoughts on that subject.

Yes, this will be at the front of any Duensing decision. I don't think they go so far as to non-tender him unless things really go south, but that figure sure would make me think the Twins would enthusiastically trade him. It shouldn't be an issue for the certainly very low payroll going forward, but it seems that this team too often is more offended by paying a player more than they deem he is worth.

The ability to promote the hometown guys was surely a factor back then, but Winfield did fill a big hole after Chili Davis left and the 1996 lineup with Molitor would have actually been pretty impressive had Puckett not been lost. Knoblauch, Molitor, Puckett would have been a pretty killer top of the lineup. Still the rotation was another wish and a prayer group made up of castoffs and youngsters, some who may have promise, and others who had been given many chances but could never put it all together. Sounds familiar. Those that don't know history....

It means little? Then why do the big market teams spend more if it isn't an advantage?