Article: Wednesday Notes from Hammond: Offense, Worley and Buxton

[Parker Hageman]

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php/2781-Wednesday-Notes-from-Hammond-Offense-Worley-and-Buxton

[Ultima Ratio]

Are we looking to add any waived players -- if so , who might be the targets? Just curious.

[Parker Hageman]

Antony said that they were always looking at the waivers -- especially at this time with roster moves -- however there were not specific targets mentioned.

[jharaldson]

Of the mulitple teams that called on Worley, did you get the impression that the Pirates were the only team that made an offer or did the Twins turn down other offers?

[Dr. Evil]

I'm looking forward to the season getting under way so I can head out to the ballpark and throw down a few hot dogs, crunch on some peanuts and dump a few bevies down my opinion hole.

 

People are going to be elevating out of their seats and slapping high fives left and right as long as the boys follow the game plan.

 

Pitchers need to get the ball to "come out of their hands real good" while "creating a nice angle" and even "spinning one" in to the strike zone from time to time to trick the opposition.

 

On defense, the guys need to "really pick it over there" on the infield and "run em down" like crazy in the outfield.

 

The hitters need to "get the good part of the bat on one" and "put it in play." Maybe even "back spin one" on occasion so that it travels a great distance and they can take there time getting around the bases.

 

Guys on the base pads need to get "running around all over the place out there" to create some excitement and score some runs.

 

How bored and ready for the season to start must I be to assemble this list of Twins "isms."

 

Go Twins!!

[GCTF]

I'm looking forward to the season getting under way so I can head out to the ballpark and throw down a few hot dogs, crunch on some peanuts and dump a few bevies down my opinion hole.

 

People are going to be elevating out of their seats and slapping high fives left and right as long as the boys follow the game plan.

 

Pitchers need to get the ball to "come out of their hands real good" while "creating a nice angle" and even "spinning one" in to the strike zone from time to time to trick the opposition.

 

On defense, the guys need to "really pick it over there" on the infield and "run em down" like crazy in the outfield.

 

The hitters need to "get the good part of the bat on one" and "put it in play." Maybe even "back spin one" on occasion so that it travels a great distance and they can take there time getting around the bases.

 

Guys on the base pads need to get "running around all over the place out there" to create some excitement and score some runs.

 

How bored and ready for the season to start must I be to assemble this list of Twins "isms."

 

Go Twins!!

 

Not one mention of "getting after it". Maybe you should follow the AAA team until you "get your game together".

[ashbury]

That Buxton wrist injury might develop into an amputation after the Twins medical staff is done with him.

 

[Mike Sixel]

Sure would be cool if one of their top prospects would NOT have an issue this year......Sano, Buxton, Rosario. Last year Meyer (and Gibson recovering from one).....how about we go a month or two w/o bad news on a top prospect. That would be fun!*, **, ***

 

*I am not trying to make a full list here.

**I am not saying this is anyone's fault.

***I am trying to hope for some good news.

[Halsey Hall]

Mastro dove for a ball yesterday and also jammed his wrist. He came out today but without a glove or bat. He doesn't have much luck.

[MileHighTwinsFan]

In retrospect, the loss of Sano and Rosario could really hurt the team this year. It is reasonable to assume both would have gotten major league time this year to spark the offense.

 

As it pans out, the team may need to look elsewhere - possibly dealing a reliever and a prospect to get what they need. Could they deal Kepler and Burton for a proven MLB hitter?

[JB_Iowa]

Diamond Placed on Waivers

 

http://blogs.twincities.com/twins/2014/03/26/twinsights-scott-diamond-placed-on-waivers/

 

 

Not surprising.

[cmb0252]

I usually consider myself a pretty positive person but things are getting out of hand. First Rosario, then Sano, and now Buxton. The only saving grace to our current bad offense was help is on the way. I guess bad things do come in 3's.

[YourHouseIsMyHouse]

Diamond Placed on Waivers

 

http://blogs.twincities.com/twins/2014/03/26/twinsights-scott-diamond-placed-on-waivers/

 

 

Not surprising.

Good news for Caleb Thielbar

[gocgo]

Kubes struck out twice again today. ST BA is down below the mendoza line. The question I have is how long of a leash will the Twins organization give him if this continues into the regular season? 1 month? 2 months? I see no point in watching an aging veteran DH and bat .200. Might as well let a young guy do that and learn rather than someone on the downside of their career. Then again, there's Willingham sporting the .056 average. <heavy sigh>.

[jokin]

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php/2781-Wednesday-Notes-from-Hammond-Offense-Worley-and-Buxton

 

“We did not go into the offseason saying we just need to get two or three starting pitchers and we will be right where we want to be,” said Antony. “That was not the case.” He acknowledged the team made efforts to obtain other position players but those targets ultimately signed elsewhere.

 

Parker, I'm wondering if you were on hand to hear what was apparently the followup to the above quote:

 

The Twins added Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes this offseason, but they planned to spend even more money, assistant GM Rob Antony tells Phil Miller of the Star Tribune (via Twitter). "We were trying to give money away," Antony says

 

Breaking out the 2013 tired Terry Ryan meme, once again after the fact? I don't recall much or any reporting of the Twins seriously in on any hitters ("out of our price range" was pretty much how the tweeted attributions would go), despite Ryan's public pronouncements late last year that they were, in fact, going to address the hitting dearth during this offseason.

[cmb0252]

Didn't they offer better overall $ total contracts to Garza, A.J., and Salty?

[Halsey Hall]

I think we went after AJ pretty hard, but then why would he come back here?

[Deduno Abides]

Some thoughts on 2014 upside and looking at 2015. (1) Maybe the Twins will have a great shot at getting the first overall choice in the 2015 draft. (2) Maybe the plan/hope is for one of Willingham/Kubel to have value at the trade deadline, in exchange for a player with potential. (3) Maybe a decent pitching staff will prevent younger offensive players from getting discouraged by frequent large deficits, to better enable them to focus on batting and fielding correctly, instead of feeling subtle pressure to try to be a hero, which can cause improper technique. (4) Maybe decent pitching and poor hitting will result in fast games. (5) Maybe Pinto and Arcia will show more frequent flashes of success, solidifying two positions for 2015. (6) Maybe Dozier will not be quite as good as he was in the second half last year, but still much better than he was in the first half, solidifying second base for 2015. (7) Maybe Mauer will be good at first base, solidifying that position for 2015. (8) Maybe Sano will heal well from surgery, giving hope to solidify third base for 2015. (9) Maybe Hicks will be OK, meaning that he can be at least adequate (would everyone be OK with at least the same WAR as Revere?) for 2015. (10) Maybe the bullpen will get straightened out, positioning Perkins, Tonkin, Swarzak, Deduno and other arms TBD for 2015. (11) Maybe the remaining three positions - DH, OF and SS - can be sorted out during 2014 and, if needed, addressed during the 2015 off-season, as well as perhaps getting a frontline starting pitcher from outside the organization.

[Dr. Evil]

Not one mention of "getting after it". Maybe you should follow the AAA team until you "get your game together".

 

Good catch. I also forgot that the pitchers gotta "miss some bats."

[JB_Iowa]

(3) Maybe a decent pitching staff will prevent younger offensive players from getting discouraged by frequent large deficits, to better enable them to focus on batting and fielding correctly, instead of feeling subtle pressure to try to be a hero, which can cause improper technique. (4) Maybe decent pitching and poor hitting will result in fast games.

 

Re: (3) This was actually one of the arguments I made at some point for keeping Perkins. If by some chance a group of young players can scrape together a lead, it's nice to have a closer who can save it for them.

 

Re: (4) Yesteday's and today's games are proof of this. Barely 2 1/2 hours (if that).

[Highabove]

I had the Opportunity to spend a few days at Orioles camp. There's some excitement about Juan Cruz joining the lineup. If I'm not mistaken, he was on the market for a while. A one year contract would have been perfect for the Twins. I guess, the Twins do not need any more power hitters.

[jokin]

Re: (3) This was actually one of the arguments I made at some point for keeping Perkins. If by some chance a group of young players can scrape together a lead, it's nice to have a closer who can save it for them.

 

Re: (4) Yesteday's and today's games are proof of this. Barely 2 1/2 hours (if that).

 

2:14 and 2:39. Nice, crisp baseball games....me like.

[jokin]

Didn't they offer better overall $ total contracts to Garza, A.J., and Salty?

 

Like I said, no "hitters" in this list, despite Terry Ryan stating that upgrading the offense was a prime objective.

[AlwaysinModeration]

I had the Opportunity to spend a few days at Orioles camp. There's some excitement about Juan Cruz joining the lineup. If I'm not mistaken, he was on the market for a while. A one year contract would have been perfect for the Twins. I guess, the Twins do not need any more power hitters.

 

Nelson, you mean?