stringer bell

A lot of good comments here. I am trying not to cherry-pick stats, but I would like to point out some things that seem to be pushed under the rug--yes, Aaron Hicks will play this year at 25, Eduardo Escobar just turned 26, they are less than a year apart and Escobar has accomplished something as a major leaguer. I would also state that Schafer showed more in his short stint with the Twins than Hicks has in 538 plate appearances with the Twins. Hicks performance has been on a par with Robinson's in a roughly equivalent number of at-bats. If some are willing to platoon Hicks, I think they are giving up on Hicks as a prospect and making him a fourth outfielder/platoon player. A strict platoon would have Hicks "riding the pine" between 2/3 and 3/4 of the time. I'd rather have Robinson in that role and see if Hicks can master AAA. Yes, Danny Santana is a cover boy for "predicted regression" and most of us were surprised by Eduardo Escobar's hitting prowess last year. Again, their production last year happened as did Hicks' lack of production. The Twins should be cognizant of the percentages, but shouldn't ignore what happened between the lines. Let's also remember that the team that goes north won't be the team that we see after Memorial Day or the All-Star break. First of all, the Twins should proceed as if they were going to contend this year. That means sending the best 25 players north and the best nine on the field and in my book that means both Danny Santana and Eduardo Escobar in the lineup. Addressing defense--Aaron Hicks isn't even above-average as a center fielder. He might be a bit better than Santana, but the difference could be marginal. Buxton likely won't be a gold glove guy when he is recalled, but he could be the best defender available in the Twins' system. If the Twins want premium defense in center, they should make a deal for Peter Bourjos. He is a proven top defender, still under 30 with a contract for less than $2M.

Why should Hicks' spring matter even a little bit? He looked very strong in 2013 and pretty good in 2014, but came out of the gate under .200 both years. I just can't see how Hicks should start the season with the Twins. Let the guy master AAA.

There are a lot of "ifs" that have to work out positively for the Twins to contend. It could happen, and they are due for a surge. A nice, long winning streak early could give them confidence, especially if much of the streak is against AL Central teams. The Twins also need to build a home-field advantage, winning 10-15% more games at home than they win on the road. That would mean that the team should fit the ballpark and have a bit of an edge when playing at Target Field.

One other thing, Hisle batted in the middle of the lineup, while Mack didn't IIRC, at least when the Twins were relevant.

I have been publicly predicting Eddie Rosario will make the club out of spring training. I really doubt that will happen, but I'm pulling for a long shot to happen. Rosario would have to be clearly better than his competition in center, not only Hicks, but also Schafer and the Twins would have to be wedded to having Santana as the shortstop. I see a better future for Rosario than Hicks, but left field is probably the position he will get most of his playing time.

I don't expect any I named to be playing beyond 2016.

Battey had one good season in Washington plus his seven seasons in Minnesota. For a catcher, that is pretty good longevity. He was a four-time All-Star. In my book, he deserved the Twins Hall of Fame honor.

Mauer still has four years left on his contract, correct?

Agree 100% on Gladden and besides that he's not a good announcer, especially on PBP. I didn't (and don't) have a problem with a Hall of Famer who spent the majority of his career with the Twins getting his number retired, but the other side of it is I wouldn't have a problem if he didn't. Let's just hold off on Twins' HOF for a few years until Johan, Morneau, Torii, Cuddy and Radke can be inducted (Radke's not in yet is he?).

The Twins changed the name of their team when they moved to Minnesota. The Dodgers stayed the Dodgers, the Giants stayed the Giants, so it kind of figures that they don't emphasize their Washington roots. Also, the Senators were perennial losers and when the Twins moved, they wanted to make a break from that history. When Calvin sold the club, the connection with Washington was pretty much severed. I agree that the Twins should recognize their Washington history, but it isn't easy to consider the first 60 years of the last century exactly the same as the last 54 years that they have been in Minnesota.

Regarding the relative value of Mack and Tovar, they played in different eras. Mack played in the early steroids era when home runs and offense soared. Whereas, Tovar played at the peak of a pitching era where Bob Gibson had a 1.12 ERA and Denny McLain won 30 games. Five years vs. eight matters as well and the Twins of Tovar's era were contenders more often than not while the Twins had only two years of relevance during Mack's tenure. As a teenager, it seemed like Tovar was a Twin forever, as a grown-up and dad, it seemed like Mack was with the Twins a short time. Versatility does matter. I agree that the stunt of playing all nine positions shouldn't matter at all, but Pepé was versatile, playing a lot of third, some second and short and all three outfield positions. He also had personality, whereas Mack was among the quietest and most reserved players in his era.

The Laudner pick-off throw occurred on probably the only day I ever went to a bar to specifically watch a game. I don't think I ever screamed as loud (at least at a sporting event) as when G-Man slapped the tag on Evans. It is my #1 memory of Laudner's career.

That was my first thought when mentioning Jones' career highlights. I remember about a year or two before he left, that someone mentioned that Jones could only slide one way and that limited his base stealing.

I thought Mauer was shaky early at first, mostly on popups and ground balls hit to him (to flip or not flip) and he was unsure of himself positioning and cutting off balls. As the season wore on, he got more and more comfortable. He's pretty athletic and has a really long reach. He's probably more prone to win a Gold Glove than a Silver Slugger IMHO.

I shared the fear when the ball was hit to Plouffe, but by mid-season I was confident when the ball was hit to him by mid-season. I think we have seen Plouffe mature as a ballplayer after seeing Plouffe come into the league with major issues in his game.

I'm with Brock on this and have learned to appreciate Plouffe for what he has done to become, by almost all measures, an above-average third baseman. In the Dozier thread there were comments about having 3-4 good players capable of having a great year. I would put both Plouffe and Dozier in that category. Their floors have gone up to capable or average and in good seasons could be in the top quartile at their position. Regarding the comments above, Plouffe isn't one to make many highlight film plays, but that shouldn't sully his defensive reputation. Making the plays that should be made is much more important than having Manny Machado throw out a guy from beyond the coaches box. Plouffe's (and Dozier's) improvement didn't make the Twins a contender in 2014, but having guys that can be counted on makes the climb to respectability and contention that much easier.

To expand on that story, the leadoff HR was much more than "baseball is back". It came after the off-season of uncertainty as to whether the Twins would be contracted. It was an all-caps "BASEBALL IS BACK AND THE TWINS ARE PART OF IT!".

I'm in!

Tempest in a teapot further complicated (to us) by language issues. I hope this is the case. Winter ball intrigues me and I don't really know how to consider performances in these leagues. I know many of the players are living at home and playing abbreviated schedules, I know that there are good crowds and good players when they are in the playoffs. I don't know how seriously the players are taking the competitions and I don't know if strong (or weak) performance shoud be an indication of future performance.

Hicks' history in the lower minors was to struggle early, repeat and succeed. He has basically skipped AAA, or at least not mastered that level. If Buxton or Rosario need playing time at AAA, move Hicks to a corner. It is his projected place when Buxton arrives if he stays with the Twins anyway. IMHO, Hicks fundamentals and psyche can't stand up to the challenge of big league pitching. It is possible that success at Rochester (if not domination) might build his confidence to the point that he would come back to the major and hit well from both sides of the plate. In answer to Dante above, I believe the ship has sailed on switch hitting. Despite the talk about how fundamentally poor some of Hicks' PAs have been, the biggest thing he is lacking is confidence. However the club can build Aaron Hicks' confidence is the way it should proceed. I firmly believe that a trip to Rochester the best and perhaps only answer.

Based on what? HIs lifetime .609 OPS, the total lack of power he displayed in 2014? His nice smile? My point all offseason has been that in nearly a full year's major league at-bats Aaron Hicks has not shown himslef to be a major league hitter. He has shown that his spring training performance can't be counted on, so based on those two factors and still considering him a prospect who can get better, the only destination for Hicks should be Rochester, New York. Schafer's month of August was superior to any month Hicks has performed in the majors, by a lot. In my book, he should get the at-bats versus right handed pitchers and since I firmly believe Hicks should work on his hitting in the minors, the only RH choice to play center field to start the season is Shane Robinson.

The problem with a Hicks/Schafer platoon is that the guy with the tools and (perhaps) unreached potential won't get many at-bats. If Hicks only starts against left handers, then he starts less than 50 games. That is not the way to develop a player still regarded as a prospect. I have advocated long and hard for Hicks to be optioned to Rochester and see if he can master AAA pitching and perhaps become an acceptable big-league hitter. I really think that is the only way to go for Hicks. If the Twins want their best players on the field, Escobar should be out there, even if it means that Santana is in center. Personally, I want to see how long the acceptable hitting for Schafer will play out. Even with his much improved performance in Minnesota, his numbers screamed "platoon". Still, if he can perform close to last year, he is an asset who provides speed and base-stealing ability, two things the club lacks. Since I've called for Hicks to be optioned, the logical backup outfielder would be Robinson, not really an All-Star setup, but again the RH half of a platoon doesn't get that much time on the field. To me, making Aaron Hicks into a platoon player lowers his value and closes the book on him becoming much more than a career fourth outfielder. While I have been critical of his performance and doubtful of his future, I do believe he still has a chance to be much more than a platoon player/fourth OF.

Since Hicks has a lower OPS and the same OPS+ in approximately the same number of plate appearances, I guess neither of them belong in the majors. Seriously, what is best for Hicks is to go to Rochester and master that level. If it means that Robinson gets some play for a month or two, so be it. The Cards have made the playoffs almost every year and he's managed to get 2.141 years of service, so I guess Robinson fits on a good team as the 25th man.

Hicks-Gomez? Not me. Gomez was overly aggressive and Hicks is overly passive, so as players they are really opposite sides of the coin. In the sense that they started in the majors before they were ready there are similarities. Further, we have only seen glimpses of Hicks that were capable major league players. We saw more sustained stretches from Gomez paired with slumps where he looked like he couldn't hit the ball if it was on a tee. Regarding Rasmus, I don't want to see the Twins bring in someone that would only be acceptable in the outfield and I think that is all we would get with Rasmus. He also has an injury history and has trouble with LH pitching. If the Twins were to add Rasmus, they would have four players with severe platoon splits--Mauer, Arcia, Vargas in addition to Rasmus. I also get the feeling that Santana is going to struggle more against LH pitching just from his ABs last year.

According to ESPN, Dozier had the fifth highest WAR amongst second basemen. Plouffe was tenth amongst third sackers. With a serf salary, Dozier is a tremendous bargain. Meanwhile, Plouffe was underpaid for his value, but not nearly as much as Dozier. If they both maintain their production, they would continue to be great values. The waiting replacement for Plouffe has a very high ceiling, but is probably half a season away. Not now but later, Plouffe is a prime trade candidate. Dozier would appear to be a Twins' regular for next year and two arb years. He would be 30 at that point, with one more year prior to free agency. There is still time to get a an extension done, if Dozier continues to improve his performance.