BodieInSD

"Lies. Damnable lies. Statistics" In that order, though I would add "advanced metrics" for any discussion involving baseball. I'll believe my lying eyes. Rogers has stunk this year - lucky or unlucky. Duffey only has yet to stink!

Going to miss the Dutchman. I might be reading durring a broadcast and I'll hear a new Bert-ism and think "WTF did he just say. I must've heard that wrong." Watching the 2am re-broadcast usually confirms that I was right in what I thought I heard...

Kenta was my favorite Twins' pick-up in years. And yes, that does include the age-defying Nelson Cruz! Maeda is a front of the rotation starter, something the Twins produce far too seldom for a good baseball team. The fact that he is under contract for several more years (3 or 4? more) at an affordable price is a double bonus. When Berrios leaves (he will) at the first opportunity, Maeda will be the best starter the Twins have - barring another trade or FA pick-up. He doesn't have the upside potential of Berrios, but he has shown throughout his career to be a steadier and more reliable starter than him - and it will be at a lower price at the end of Kenta's contract.

Gonna miss the old Dutchman! One more piece of my childhood gone...

I'd agree, IF he could get the average/OB% up. Even if his "breakthrough" offensive season, he hit .263 with an ob% of .314. That is simply too low for a lead off hitter. As he is an excellent base stealer (percentage-wise) I'd grant him a bit more leeway, than the average guy, but those are unacceptable for a good line-up.

I agree wholeheartedly! Especially the "it" factor as you label it. Eddie is the proof for the old "lies, damned lies and statistics" adage. And to top it off, he is FUN to watch play, especially when he is having fun.

It would be nice if we could expect to see him in the lineup every day. I take it back, it would be heavenly if... Unfortunately only fool would expect that considering his history...

I'd be quite happy if he played in May for the Twins. He seems to take a loooong time to get his timing back after missing games. But when is out, he does tend to miss significant lengths of time, so that is understandable. Look forward to seeing him rolling along in June (fingers crossed).

Assuming the Twins' lineup is as (relatively) productive as last year's (lets see how the ball flies throughout baseball), there isn't much of a reason to fiddle with the structure of the lineup. With a healthy(ish) everyday lineup, the weakest spot in the lineup would be Buxton(!!!) assuming he is healthy) and I don't think that is exactly the kind of hitter that teams walk a guy to get to (what a grammatical nightmare)!

Agree with your lines. But, the biggest difference to me is the willingness to take bigger gambles - not absurd, budget-breaking gambles but slightly ones than the Twins have been known for in the past. Donaldson and Maeda are examples. The previous regime would likely never have traded for Maeda. Not because of any risk that the trade might have or might not have worked out (and that is to be seen) but because Graterol was under team control and can be paid the minimum and Maeda is not (though his contract is VERY team friendly). And if the stories of the contract negotiations are true, Donaldson would not have been signed. Assuming that they would have made the opening offer, they would likely have never budged in adding the final option year. And while his contract is big, it looks much more manageable in today's financial climate than Mauer's did back in the day. The Twins will never be in position to compete financially with the Yankees. If they make a mistake in signing someone, they simply sign or trade for the best available replacement and dispose of the contract however they can. The Twins pretty much have to live with their mistakes. Falvey & Co. seem to make very few mistakes. There are two ways of doing that. One is to do nothing - no action, no failure attached to that (non)action action. The other is to be good at your job. Long-time Twins fans have seen both. I much prefer the latter.

IF... Buxton himself brings two things the Twins are almost devoid of without him. ELITE defense (don't know that Donaldson is quite at that level at 3B - very good yes, but...) and a legitimate base stealing threat. Imagine Kepler getting a steady diet of fastballs with Buxton on base!

When the final Twins White Sox series came around last year, I made it a point to go to see Moncada in person. If anyone else remembers, he played like carp. Granted it was in the last 2 weeks (or so) of a very long and bad season for the White Sox, but Moncado looked worse defensively than Sano and played a pretty much lazy looking series - especially for a guy who had MVP caliber numbers. So if he was simply a young player not used to the grind of a 162 game season, or maybe a little banged up at the end of the year, or simply sick and tired of playing more or less meaningless baseball on a poor/bad (though improving) team, I came away FAR from impressed. The season long numbers do say that he is much better than the player I saw that weekend, but my lying eyes were really glad that the Sox thought he was a building block!

I agree. To me it is right below protecting yourself behind the plate from foul tips. But these guys are professional athletes. Their reflexes are extraordinary compared to the general population. I simply find it strange that 3B is (and has had) a position that lacks depth at the top tiers. The pool of candidates is by no means small (5 minor league levels plus Rookie leagues - and those are only hte ML affiliated pros- and the physical skills are not particularly demanding (i.e. speed/range). A good first step (meaning quick and in the right direction) and the ability to keep the ball in front of you are really the the only skills a player needs. Repletion in the minors should hone those skills and sharpen the reflexes.

My guess is that you are not collecting a baseball paycheck... I'm not saying that you can pull a guy out of the stands to play 3B, but that a professional should be able to capably man the position.

3B is a mystery to me. It seems that it should be an easy position to fill with quality players. Qick hands and feet, but necessarily fast feet. A strong arm is a necessity, but accuratacy is just about as imortant. Poiwer hitting is is kind of expected, but Wade Boggs made a decent name for himself there without tons of power. In other word, 3B requires your basic defensive skills. Seemingly these skills should be processed by nearly all professional (not just MLB) ball players - no one is asking them to block J.J. Watt, shoot free throws or put backspin on a soccer ball. But the list of high quality 3B is (and has been) rather short. 14 in the HOF (about one per decade of ML Baseball) and for most of my life the depth has been poor. No one would take the 5th best 3B over Manny Machado or Nolan Arenado. At nearly every other position, you can make the case for the (consensus) #5 at any position over the #1 (consensus) be it because of his glove, power, speed or whatever your team may need. 3B seems to (and has for years) stratify the players much more distinctly than other positions. Anyway, the Twins now have one of the better ones. And have gotten him for a reasonable price (by modern MLB standards).