stringer bell

I DVRed the game yesterday and watched most of it last night. While I didn't see some key events, I heard about them on the radio. The Twins had a chance to beat the Tigers but came up short in key at-bats. They also were hurt by bases advanced by the plodding Tigers. What went right: 1) Worley outlasted Verlander. Even though he was the losing pitcher he managed to go six innings and reached the threshold for a "Quality Start". 2) Fien struck out the side in the seventh and it was the top of the order. 3) The offensive approach allowed the Twins to only face Verlander for five innings. 4) Worley had the Tigers hitting the ball on the ground recording something like 15 ground ball outs, including one outstanding play from Florimon. What went wrong: 1) Four Twins came up in a game situation and only one (Doumit) brought in a run. Plouffe and Parmelee had a great chance to knot the game or put the Twins ahead in the 7th inning and failed. 2) Duensing and Roenicke combined to yield a key insurance run in the 8th, after the Twins had closed to within one run. 3) Defensive misplays and failure to make plays cost the Twins dearly--a) Peralta was a dead duck with a good throw and tag, Mauer's throw tailed and Florimon failed to catch the ball. Two wild pitches allowed runners to advanced and each scored as a result of that. Mauer blocked a low pitch, but couldn't locate it and Roenicke's went between the wickets. c) Florimon booted a fairly routine grounder and Dozier might have left too early on Torii's hit and run roller in the first inning. d) Worley allowed too many baserunners, which put pressure on the defense and it never allowed Vanimal to get in rhythm.

Per Terry Ryan--Wimmers is on the same program that Gibson was last year.

Best wishes to Pressly. If the Twins can get a good bullpen arm out of the Rule 5 draft, that is truly worthwhile, especially with the acquisition of Diamond a couple years earlier. I saw the only appearance in ST where Pressly yielded a run and IIRC there were a couple of SBs in that inning. I hope teams don't "run wild" on him.

Add Brendan Harris to the list. He is on the Dodger team listed as a third baseman, no doubt as a result of Hanley Ramirez' injury. Harris is on the Angel team, and with injuries to Aybar and Callaspo, he is seeing some playing time at short and third.

#2 thru #7 is pretty solid. Veterans hitting 2-5 and guys with a chance to emerge at 6 and 7. I think the potency of the lineup will depend on the health of the veterans and productivity of Parm, Plouffe, Hicks, Dozier, and Florimon, with any offense supplied by the shortstop considered a bonus.

Here's my record breaker: stolen base percentage record holder is none other than Alexi Casilla, 21 for 22 last year with his only CS either being a pickoff or an overslide, I can't remember which.

Here is a list of ex-Twins who have made Opening Day rosters in the major leagues. Long on pitchers and outfielders, short on infielders and starting pitching quality. Sound familiar? Denard Span--Nationals Ben Revere--Phillies Jason Kubel--Diamondbacks Carlos Gomez--Brewers Torii Hunter--Tigers Michael Cuddyer--Rockies Garrett Jones--Pirates Alexi Casilla--Orioles JJ Hardy--Orioles Nick Punto--Dodgers Henry Blanco--Blue Jays AJ Pierzynski--Rangers Wilson Ramos--Nationals Jason Marquis--Padres RA Dickey--Blue Jays Kyle Lohse--Brewers Philip Humber--Astros Kevin Slowey--Marlins Grant Balfour--A's Pat Neshek--A's Luis Ayala--Orioles Jesse Crain--White Sox Jose Mijares--Giants Jon Rauch--Marlins Matt Guerrier--Dodgers Joe Nathan--Rangers LaTroy Hawkins--Mets Notable DLs--Santana, Ortiz, Young, Liriano, Breslow

Here is a list of ex-Twins who have made Opening Day rosters in the major leagues. Long on pitchers and outfielders, short on infielders and starting pitching quality. Sound familiar? Denard Span--Nationals Ben Revere--Phillies Jason Kubel--Diamondbacks Carlos Gomez--Brewers Torii Hunter--Tigers Michael Cuddyer--Rockies Garrett Jones--Pirates Alexi Casilla--Orioles JJ Hardy--Orioles Nick Punto--Dodgers Henry Blanco--Blue Jays AJ Pierzynski--Rangers Wilson Ramos--Nationals Jason Marquis--Padres RA Dickey--Blue Jays Kyle Lohse--Brewers Philip Humber--Astros Kevin Slowey--Marlins Grant Balfour--A's Pat Neshek--A's Luis Ayala--Orioles Jesse Crain--White Sox Jose Mijares--Giants Jon Rauch--Marlins Matt Guerrier--Dodgers Joe Nathan--Rangers LaTroy Hawkins--Mets Notable DLs--Santana, Ortiz, Young, Liriano, Breslow

I am not on board with giving Drew Butera starts to save Mauer's legs. If the Twins are going to find out who can be Mauer's alternate, they have to find someone who profiles as a better hitter than Butera--within the system they have Fryer, Herrman, Rohlfing and Pinto--even if they have to trade or claim somebody from another organization. IMHO, Drew has proven he can't hit enough to be an alternate catcher--his role is #3 catcher/injury replacement. My gripe about carrying three catchers has been (and remains) that if you have a number three guy, he should be able to do more than just receive, he must be able to play another position or have a potent enough bat to be a pinch hitter.

I don't know if this is the proper forum, but at least it will be read. I have started a couple of blog entries, but quit them because I couldn't start a new paragraph. Am I doing something wrong, or is there a setting I should change? Thanks for your help mods and bloggers.

My favorite record from the 2012 season: Who is the Twins all-time single season leader in stolen base percentage (min 20 attempts)?

Mostly AAA filler, some up and comers (Gibson, Arcia) and a couple of surprises. As thrylos said there are a lot of guys on the DL as well. There isn't much talent in the middle infield and the pitching could produce some results.

If there is an official list, I'll take Kyle Gibson. I think Gibson will be a Twin soon and will be good within a year.

I don't think Robertson should be looking for a place to live in Mpls. yet, and if he does, he should rent by the month.

Morneau now has the tag "injury prone" and he is probably one knock on the head from retiring from baseball. How on earth can a team in rebuilding mode re-sign him? The Twins are unerring in going for less since Ryan has returned to the helm. Paying Parm and Arcia a half million each is pretty cost effective compared to Morneau making 14 Million per season. If the Twins can get something for Morneau at the deadline, I'm pretty sure they'll take it. Don't look for them to sweeten the pot by eating some of his salary. Do I agree with this? No, but it isn't my money.

I am a Joe Benson fan, but if he is griping that he was sent down, he needs to grow up. He hasn't outhit or outfielded anybody that made the roster and he needs to show that he can play at AAA before he gets another shot with the Twins. On the other hand, with losing comes greater scrutiny of organizational problems, and the Twins have been blamed properly for mishandling injured players and specific injuries. If Benson is still recovering from his injury, maybe he should be rehabbing rather than trying to win a spot on the roster.

I'll put the wins at 72-75. Cleveland and KC will be better, Chicago could be better and Detroit also figures to be improved. That said, the Twins should have some karma going their way. I posted in another thread that improvement in some areas will make 2013 a successful season. There are five new regulars and if three establish themselves as major league regulars, that will be good. If Diamond and two others establish themselves as starting pitchers, that will meet expectations. If the Twins benefit from the last year of Morneau's contract, that would also be a success. The middle of the order will make the Twins more potent and new pitchers will improve the staff. How many that will be around in two years is the open question.

Buxton could be something special in a few years. It may be one reason why the Twins aren't as concerned about Hicks getting a full year served in 2013.

How much is "some speed"? It seems to me that despite a strong arm and a reliable glove, both the Whities and the Twins are reluctant to have Escobar play short. In viewing his SB numbers, he doesn't appear to have SB potential. Connecting the dots tells me that Escobar is just not fast enough or have enough range to be an outstanding defender.

Vizquel is marginal for the HOF. He didn't get to 3000 hits and offensively he wasn't ever elite, he was a fine defender for a long time and developed into a good, not great, offensive player.

Robertson "won" the last bullpen spot by sucking slightly less than Burnett and by being left handed.

I was going over the Twins projected starting lineup in my head. It looks pretty symmetrical. Three switch hitters (Hicks, Doumit, Florimon), three RH hitters (Plouffe, Willingham, Dozier) and three LH hitters (Mauer, Morneau, Parmelee). If they split up the M & M boys with the Hammer, it should be pretty tough for managers to LOOGy them. Among the switch hitters, Doumit's strong side is LH, while Hicks' is reported to be RH. Florimon--neither.

FWIW, Dozier is outOPSing Escobar .813 to .756, but as I said before, it is just spring training. The real proof starts on Monday.

It never was an open competition IMHO. Before ST started, the Twins were willing to give second base to Dozier to start the season if he showed he could play there defensively. He has shown that. His hitting has come on as the spring has gone along. Escobar competed for and won a utility job. He'll get his chances and if someone fails (I'd pick Florimon), he will probably get a chance to win a starting job.

It's a small sample size for Parm, but here were the OPS splits for the four guys I listed in my posting above: Mauer vs. RH: .918 vs. LH: .754 Morneau vs. RH: .902 vs. LH: .569 Doumit vs. RH: .823 vs. LH: .690 Parmelee vs RH: .667 vs. LH: .681