Minnesota Twins Talk

According to this article by John Shipley, despite a very positive outing in a AAA game today against the Red Sox, Scott Baker was immediately put on the Disabled List. This means that the likely Twins rotation will include Liam Hendriks. Assumed rotation: Opening Night @ Baltimore - Carl Pavano Satrday @ Baltimore - Francisco Liriano Sunday @ Baltimore - Liam Hendriks Monday @ Target Field - Nick Blackburn.

I thought this year they were starting with a clean slate and decided everyone mustt earn their spot.. So how'd this guy make the opening day roster?? Here's his spring stats and last years stats... Spring 2012: ERA: 6.97, WHIP: 2.22, Batting Average Against: .366, with 5 K's and 5 BB's in 9 innings.. Last Year: ERA: 5.51, WHIP: 1.40, Batting Average Against: .275, with 33 K's and 21 BB's in 50 2/3 innings.. I would've much rather seen Fien make the opening day roster over Burnett. Fien's stats this spring... ERA:1.93, WHIP: .86, Batting Average Against: .176, with 9 K's and 2 BB's in 9 1/3 innings. He wasn't on the 40-man roster though. Others on the 40-ma…

We've got a lot of new guys on the squad this year. Anyone wanna guess what Gardy and the various press will dub them?

My projection for Joe Mauer is: .318/.397/.496 with 40 doubles, 11 home runs and 84 RBI. Consider each of those numbers over/unders. What do you think? How do you think he will hit in 2012? Get your projections in here!

Catch 111 games, play 1B 27 games, DH 12 games. That puts him at 150 games played. I would be good with that breakdown. This thread is do discuss where Joe Mauer will play throughout the 2012 season. I guess for the negatives you can predict some DL time or whatever. But think about how much he'll catch, play 1B, DH, get days off, maybe get another game in RF, wherever. What are your predictions.

bit of a newbie here but with Morneau moving to more of a DH role than originally thought, what if any is the role Butera would play in the lineup? Is it worth it to keep him as a 3rd catcher?

As Seth hinted in his post earlier today, it's HIGHLY likely that one of Baker/Marquis won't be on the team opening day due to outside circumstances. Hendriks is a clear choice to be called up, but I doubt the Twins want to bring him north just for a single spot start. Looking over the waiver wire for professional veterans one name jumps out as a potential spot starter and someone who could actually stick as a very solid #5, even better: Gardy and company are familiar with him as he posted a 23-16 record and a 3.84 in a two year stretch for this team before, the man I am speaking about of course is Carlos Silva who is primed for a legitimate comeback at the still somew…

Why not take a chance on DeRosa this year? Could provide solid stability as a back up 3rd baseman and possible starting SS/2B if one of Carroll or Alexi fail. I'm thinking a trade of Towles and Guerra for him would get it done?

According to this Pioneer Press article, the 7-year-old daughter of Twins pitcher Jason Marquis was in a serious bike accident. The pitcher has been away from the team about a week, and Terry Ryan doesn't expect him back anytime soon although he expects him to be ready when camp breaks on April 4. Best wishes to the Marquis family and especially to his daughter!

I suppose there are two options if Casilla has to miss any length of time... 1) Dozier starts, either at 2B or SS with Carroll taking the other side. 2) Hughes starts and the Twins pick up a utility infielder to back up SS instead of whoever else was making the roster. I assume it would be #1, but maybe they aren't sure Dozier is ready. Or maybe they're getting excited about Hughes? What do you think they'll do? What would you do?

Click Link for Meriden CT. Record-Journal Story. Southington man denies blackmail plot against Pavano, claims it was a joke - MyRecordJournal.com: Southington News - Myrecordjournal.com

The Twins will be looking to trade Justin Morneau, perhaps in the near future, writes ESPN.com's resident former general manager Jim Bowden in his "10 bold predictions for 2012" post. And, Bowden says, the the Rangers will be the ones acquiring the big first baseman: Of course, for this plan to work, Morneau would need to (1) remain healthy and (2) produce at a high level. Truthfully, I don't hate the idea of moving Morneau - even if it comes from Bowden. Morneau, who will turn 31 in May, has battled plenty of injuries and once a player hits 30, the wear and tear does not exactly slow down. Combine that with the fact that he's scheduled to make an additional $14 m…

It looks like, other than Capps, Duensing, Swarzak, Perkins, Burton and Maloney, the guy that is getting the quality innings is Jeff Gray. What do we think - does he have the inside track? He's out of options, too, right?

The Twins acquired 26 year old 1B Matt Rizzotti this morning from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for "cash considerations." The 6-5, 255 pounder was the Twins 46th round pick in 2004 out of high school. He was then the Phillies 6th round pick in 2007. Last year at AA Reading, he hit .295/.392/.511 with 34 doubles, 24 homers and 84 RBI. He walks a bunch, and he strikes out a bunch. The left-handed hitting 1B will likely play in Rochester, along with Aaron Bates at 1B. More to come.

Click link for Story Warrant: Southington native MLB pitcher Pavano target of extortion bid - MyRecordJournal.com: Southington News - Myrecordjournal.com

Which pitcher and position player do you think will break out and play better than expected this year? Of course this depends on what your expectations are.

Ok, this just needs to be said: one cannot rely on spring training stats as predictive value for the real season. This is probably less true for relief pitchers than anyone else, but I am having a hard time reading things about spring performances as being that relevant (from Parmelee to DeRosa). A: Game stats are not the whole picture with regard to spring training, and B: Spring training is not a good predictive tool for the season. This has been demonstrated before in studies about the matter. It is fairly, well, stupid, to focus on spring training stats so thoroughly. This is not the Star Tribune's Twins section of barbarically stupid comments, man.

Here's a link to the Hardball Talk post about Cristian Guzman getting released by the Indians. With the Twins middle infield need for a backup shortstop, its seems plausible that they would look into bringing the ex-Twins infielder back in 2012.

Maybe I'm missing something, but looking at the box scores, I see: Today vs. Philly - Mauer started and Butera came in as a very late sub Yesterday vs Blt - Towles started and played the whole game Monday vs TB - Mauer started and Butera came in as a sub Sunday vs STL - Doumit started It doesn't look like Gardy is letting Butera face any of the opposing team's starting pitchers. I wonder if he hasn't falled behind Towles. Am I missing something?

With the bullpen coming in to focus, and pitching roles taking shape, one major role remains unsettled -- the right-handed setup pitcher. This role was Zumaya's to lose coming into spring training, but with his injury and a disheveled bullpen coming into '12, it remains a question -- and great concern in my opinion -- who will lock down the 8th inning with LH counterpart Perkins and create the bridge to Capps. Normally you want a guy who can miss bats and blow hitters away in the 8th and 9th. Who will it be this year? In my opinion, Jared Burton leaves spring training as the RH setup. Could it be Swarzak, Gray, Burnett?

Today the Twins released injured reliever Joel Zumaya rather than pay him his whole 800,000 salary. Instead the Twins will only be on the hook for 400,000 of that salary. By rule this was a smart move, but I have a problem with it. First, this is not a good PR move by the Twins as a pitcher comes into your camp and gets injured and you cut him to save money. It comes off very cheap and very cold reminicient of when the Yankees cut Aaron Boone when he got hurt playing basketball. I got that as it saved them money to go after Alex Rodriguez. Here paying Zumaya the extra 400,000 was the right thing to do as on the field if he can come back keeping him would make him mo…

Is it just me or does everyone see that all the blogs are gibberish now, like they've been coded or transcribed by some bug or to computer html behind the scences language i.e. ajskg thwnt thoad thllaksthw

I haven't seen him in the A box scores for the last four days. Are there any reports from him pitching in B games?

Darin Mastoianni could be the 4th OF and Revere could be playing everyday in Rochester and figuring out ways to get on base, whether it be bunting, taking pitches, etc. I gotta say, this makes a lot more sense to me than him hanging around the dugout giving high 5s and occasionally replacing Willingham in left field. Or worse, tempting Gardy to start him in right field.

What are your favorite moments? Mine is the call when Cabrera hits the homerun in the 7th off of Miner & the last hit

Here's the thing: Terry Doyle wasn't just another rule 5 guy. He was the 2nd one picked. That (hopefully) wont happen again or some time. So how come, with all those available names (and all the Twins apparent needs) the Twins couldn't find a guy worth keeping? Is the Rule 5 that weak now, or was the scouing that bad? Or both?

and especially on days that the big team is far out of town and the ball fields are full of minor leaguers First day down at Fort Myers today for me. Fun going down and watching the kids (and the Twins' starting Middle infield that played for Rochester - Carroll- and New Britain - Casilla- game; if you wonder the Rock Cats won.) I will probably post more about it later, but a lot of interesting performances. Wimmers looked really good so did Tyler Robertson. Scott Diamond not so good. In one filed there was the AAA/AA game, in another the Beloit-Fort Myers game and at a third the kids will will start in Rookie ball/EST. I was very impressed by Josh Buriss. He wa…

John Shipley at the Pioneer Press spoke with Twins GM Terry Ryan today, addressing Justin Morneau's regular designated hitter playing time as of late. Part of the motivation behind having Morneau at DH may have to do with Chris Parmelee's torrid spring performance. Said Ryan of Morneau and Parmelee: Parmelee's been very impressive this spring, hitting .324/.395/.588 with a double, a triple and two home runs (one against the Phillies' Roy Halladay) and perhaps forcing the Twins to carry him on the roster at the season's onset. If Parmelee is brought north, this certainly complicates the lineup. With Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, Ryan Doumit, Josh Willingham and now potenti…

Rob Antony was a guest on 1500espn's Sunday Morning Sports Talk with Tom Pelissero and Jim Souhan. Here are some notes: Morneau has had enough at bats to find his swing, and now he can ramp up.Morneau would prefer to play 1B, but if he's not, it'll get another bat in the lineup, and the way Parmelee has it, that might be OK.In his 25 years, he doesn't remember the Twins ever having a high ranking by Baseball America.Late bloomers, develop slowly... might be a reason why, but we're pleased with our prospects and progress they're making.Would like some more pitching prospects.A lot of guys who have a chance to be a top end guy, but guys who will play for awhile.Exception -…

Faced a Yankee lineup stacked with regulars today and hurled five shutout frames. Through five starts, Liriano now owns a 2.00 ERA and 23/3 K/BB ratio in 18 innings. It's only spring training, but in the past Liriano's spring performances have been pretty indicative of how his season was going to go. Hard not to get excited.