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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    The minor league intra-squad games for Sunday were cancelled, giving the young players their first day off on quite awhile. The fans at the complex were able to watch the left-behind major leaguers do PFP and for the hitters to take BP. Among the players left behind were Hicks, Hunter, Robinson, Suzuki, Mauer, Dozier, Nunez and Escobar. A couple notes about BP. Dozier hit the most balls over the fence, but Kelly (who ran the PFP) really encouraged Dozier every time he hit the ball up the middle or to right field. Escobar has surprising power especially from the right side. Finally, 74-year-old Phil Roof threw BP. If I'm on half as good of shape as him when I'm 74, I'll be a happy man. John Bonnes went to Jupiter (FL) so I didn't see him. Ashbury came to the park and we both met Thrylos, another solid TDer. Still looking for Halsey on my last full day on Florida. With vary-cay time winding down, I am starting to look both ahead to the season and back at the Spring Training experience. That will probably be a blog entry when I return to snowy Minnesota.
  2. stringer bell
    On Pinto, is there not a competition for the backup catcher position? If Pinto is out 4-5 days, it has to hurt his chance to go north with the team, probably unfairly. We all have seen concussion symptoms linger, so I don't think it's out of the realm that Pinto gets disabled retroactively, rehabs with Rochester to catch up for missed time a d returns to the Twins awhile after the season starts.
  3. stringer bell
    Thanks John. From my point of view, Hicks pursued the ball laterally, and the ball landed beside him. My high school coach once said if you are running directly behind a ball to the fence, you've taken the wrong route. At the time, I thought it cost a base. Maybe my viewing angle was wrong.
  4. stringer bell
    I was at the game and thought Hicks took a poor route for the ball in question. I didn't see his jump, but he has disappointed in the past. As for Plouffe playing first, it could make it easier to promote Sano in the event any corner infielder injury (plus Vargas). My best guess is that Pinto ends up on the concussion DL. Herrmann could win the backup job and delay the competition between Rosario and Herrmann.
  5. stringer bell
    At least through the 60s, teams carried nine pitchers. Now, all teams carry 12. Platooning is much more difficult than in Stengel's day or even during the time Gene Mauch managed the Twins. I still believe using Hicks as a RH platoon partner is folly and ends his development as a platoon/4th outfielder.
  6. stringer bell
    If Schafer gets the nod, they almost have to platoon. Even in his good performance last year, he had dramatic platoon splits. I realize he could regress, but last year's version was superior to anything we've seen from Aaron Hicks.
  7. stringer bell
    Regarding Boyer, what's to say that if he's first in line for a recall, that he might renegotiate his buyout date or disregard it altogether. The Twins probably don't want to use the last options on guys unless they have to, but perhaps they will have to on Thielbar.
  8. stringer bell
    With all the TD regulars around, there isn't much to add about baseball. I haven't seen Halsey, Thrylos, or John, but all are indicating they will be watching the minor league intra-squad game today. Look forward to meeting and meeting up with you guys! I believe Ash could be there as well. A couple of positives: Graham looked very good yesterday and Mauer got three hits, including a gapper to right-center. Pinto got beat up by Adam Jones's follow through (not good). That's all for now. Hope to see a bunch of you in person today.
  9. stringer bell
    If May continues to throw as well as he did yesterday, he will win the fifth starter position. Milone was rocky for two innings, but retired the last seven he faced. Pelfrey is in the mix, too. Ten days to decide.
  10. stringer bell
    Short note today. Watched infield practice run by Tom Kelly. TK looked great running drills and hitting grounders. The headline is that Trevor Plouffe took grounders at first base. Went to the Twins game and exchanged tickets from the outfield handicapped seats to third deck first base side. Great exchange! Gibson looked good, hit 95 on the gun, except two pitches to Cervelli and some control issues which seemed to appear and disappear without warning.
  11. stringer bell
    Great article John. Agree, agree, agree!
  12. stringer bell
    Three competitors for one spot. Nunez is the best hitter, has base stealing speed and plays five positions (although not well). Herrmann can catch acceptably, hits LH, and adds versatility of playing all the closest positions to the chalk lines. Robinson plays all three outfield positions and is a good defender. Added to the decision is Herrmann has an option, Nunez has none, and Robinson isn't on the 40-man.
  13. stringer bell
    Day 3 in Fort Myers yielded similar weather and the start of a pattern before heading to the ball fields. The morning ritual would be "bathroom, blog, breakfast". The minor league activity yesterday was well covered by Thrylos and Ashbury John. I will add only a couple things: when Perkins pitched, standing behind the screen with us common folk, were Strib writers Lavelle E Neale and Patrick Reusse. I shook Patrick's hand and chatted with him for a moment. The scribes left when Perk did. We arrived early enough to watch some major league BP. Hicks, Robinson and Torii were one group. We watched five or six turns and Hicks hit rightly for all but one turn versus Phil Roof, a rightly. The other group we watched was Mauer, Suzuki, and Plouffe. Tom Kelly was at the minor league games, in uniform with his fungo bat, but not sitting in the dugout. He looks pretty good, but isn't moving real fast. That's all for today. More tomorrow.
  14. stringer bell
    Day two of my Fort Myers experience featured baseball. After a bit more room jangling, we got to Century Link hereafter known as Hammond or Twins Spring Training camp at 10 AM. We checked the minor league fields and watched pitcher's drills. The Rays were to be the opposition for the Twins farmhands on this warm spring day. Well before first pitch, we made the acquaintance of TD's own Ashbury John, who is in Fort Myers, living it up while his significant other slaves over a hot computer (I jest). John is a nice guy, much younger than me, who has somehow managed to escape the bonds of employment (voluntarily). We had a nice conversation on several light topics--life, death, family, marriage, WAR, Aaron Hicks--and agreed on many things,but not Shane Robinson. Ash and I tried to smoke out TD's Halsey Hall, using Trevor Plouffe references as bait, but either Halsey wasn't there or he was too smart for our ploy. With my precision timing intact, I left the minor league games just when they started just in time to miss the first inning of the tussle with the O's. I didn't miss Ervin giving up three straight hits and two runs in the second inning. Santana yielded another run the next inning, but looked better in the fourth. Ash joined us with the score 3-1 and together we witnessed some squandered opportunities resulting in a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Baltimores. If I have more to say about the Twins, I will put it in the game thread. I want to close with an endorsement--a Fort Myers trip for a frozen Twins fan is a good thing. More tomorrow.
  15. stringer bell
    My journey to Fort Myers started with a phone call at 3 in the morning, notifying me that the shuttle would arrive at the Kwik Trip at 3:50 instead of the already too early 4:20. I arrived at "Terminal 2" at 5 AM for an 8:30 flight, but couldn't go through Security because I had arranged to help my brother when he arrived. The flight was fine-left on time, arrived on time--but still felt a bit like a sardine in the can. We upgraded our rental to an SUV and headed to our hotel on Sanibel. There the real fun began. The room wasn't ready. We ate outside by the pool under an umbrella. An hour and a half later, the room still wasn't ready. After at least a half-dozen trips to the front desk, things were pretty much settled. However, we will be in a different room tomorrow, more fitting with my brother's needs. We went out, grabbed a quick bite, got some incidentals at Pubinx and returned to our room at 8:30. It was then that I realized how tried I was! Today I repack, check out the minor leaguers and take in a day game. Hopefully, I will have the energy to do something later this afternoon and this evening.
  16. stringer bell
    I would go with Nunez, because Herrmann hasn't shown that he can hit at all. I do like a 25th guy with Herrmann's versatility.
  17. stringer bell
    I have him as the starting CF to start the year.
  18. stringer bell
    I think you are on the money, Seth. Nunez hasn't hit great, but his track record is far better than Herrmann's. With relative rhinos, Plouffe, Arcia, and Vargas all in the lineup, having someone to pinch run for them would be a plus. I think Molitor also has to be convinced of Nunez ability in the outfield and second base. He made a bad play on a ball in the ninth inning yesterday. Herrmann has to show he can hit. In addition Nunez is out of options, so if he doesn't make the team he doesn't stay in the Twins organization.
  19. stringer bell
    I'm pretty sure Milone has an option remaining. Further, I don't think he profiles as a reliever at all. IMHO, either he makes the rotation or he goes to Rochester (grudgingly). I think Herrmann and Rosario were ticketed for Rochester, but have inserted themselves into the conversation with good performance to date. They have to be better than their competition to win a job going north. I'm not happy about it, but I think both Meyer and May are going to Rochester to start the season. Stauffer has to pick it up or the Twins will walk away from his free agent contract. Graham is a wild card. If Pelfrey continues to throw well, he could make the rotation.
  20. stringer bell
    I was hoping he would make the club. I hope he gets a recall sooner rather than later.
  21. stringer bell
    Probably wise to send out the guys who aren't going to make the club. I don't think it means these guys are hopelessly buried in the minors, just that they need to play. I liked what little I saw of Sano and Berrios, in particular.
  22. stringer bell
    Slightly off topic, but where does Dozier and his .241 lifetime average hit in the Twins' lineup?
  23. stringer bell
    To Thrylos points above, two things: 1) Dozier, more than most, made adjustments in 2013 which changed his hitting. The change is more dramatic than most and seems to sacrifice BABIP for slugging. Your graph shows this. 2) The thing that Dozier needs to do which would increase his BA (and OPS) without changing his BABIP much is put the ball in play more. Dozier led the club in Ks last year, if he could reduce that number to 90 or so, he could add 10-12 hits and still carry that low BABIP to an average of .260 or so. It's not as easy as saying it and it will happen, but there is room for considerable improvement without wrecking what Dozier is good at.
  24. stringer bell
    I am a Brian Dozier fan. There is a lot to like about his game, not the least of which is the way that he has improved. I've said before that while their personalities were polar opposites, Dozier reminds me of Chuck Knoblauch. Knobby kept improving facets of his game until he was a legitimate All-Star, and Dozier appears to be doing the same. In 2013, Dozier added power to his "toolbox" clubbing all of his homers from mid-May on. In 2014, as Seth noted, he added OBP by being in the top five in walks in the AL. I expect that Dozier will try to be a better two-strike hitter, raising his average while reducing his strikeouts. There is room to improve on defense, as well. I thought BD was terrific in 2013, and something less than that last year. Finally, there is clutch hitting. I know it is supposed to be random and no one is truly "clutch", but Dozier's numbers in close and late etc. were quite a bit worse than his overall stats. I think he overthought his ABs and got himself out quite often.
  25. stringer bell
    I sincerely haven't seen anything that encourages me that Aaron Hicks will improve enough to be even a placeholder in center field. The supposed improvement after his minor league stint was negligible. He got on base better, but nearly completely lost any pop that he had in the previous season. He hasn't shown the ability to be above average in the field or on the bases. The tools remain in place, but he needs to show much improved performance. It hasn't worked to push him the last two years, why should this year be different. Rosario was mentioned as an alternate. Perhaps he could be a Santana or Vargas--guys that weren't that highly thought of, but who performed when promoted. I'd love to see Eddie win the job, but I am not going to be concerned if the season starts with Schafer backed by Robinson. I would be less than happy if that is the way the season ends.
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