stringer bell

French certainly seems too good for AA. I remember him as pretty much a soft tossing, control and command lefty. He was part of the Washburn deal that sent Jarrod Washburn to Detroit from Seattle.

Pretty close to impossible to sustain this level of failure with RISP. Mauer has bounced into 4 DPs in 9 games, Morneau is 0fer against lefties and these are the guys that are proven middle-of-the-order hitters. If both hit like they did in 2011, there is no chance, but they both should be better.

I guess not.

I think Burton and Maloney will be very good in middle innings and setup roles. Maloney has always been a starter so I wonder if he'll be considered if the plague of injuries continues for the rotation.

Perkins is coming off a shaky outing. I hope the results are better today.

The Twins appear to be in reload mode. If they aren't in contention guys like Doumit, Capps, Pavano and maybe Carroll and Span could be on the trading block. They need to know who they can count on beyond this year and what holes need to be filled from outside. Probably outside of Span, Willingham, Mauer and Morneau everybody needs to prove themselves, including Casilla, Valencia, Parmelee, Plouffe, and any callups. I like the move to get Revere out of right field and to give Plouffe more of a clear field to get his at-bats. Revere would probably benefit some from regular play at Rochester, as well. To be a better slap and dash hitter, Revere needs to get more walks and become a better bunter.

A discouraging day for the Twins. They had oodles of chances to score and failed repeatedly, Blackburn leaves with an injury and the bullpen, including Perkins, doesn't look good. Gray couldn't hold off the Rangers in the seventh--I don't know if he has enough stuff to stay in the majors.

Waldrop was going to make the club before Gray or Burnett, so if he is ready to go, the questions are 1) Is Swarzak a better choice overall than Hendriks? 2) Is Thompson better than Waldrop? 3) Is it worth losing that spot on the 40-man to pick him up?

Give it another week. If Willingham is still mashing, it would make perfect sense. Mauer and Morneau ARE weaker against lefthanders. In their MVP years it didn't seem to matter which hand the pitcher threw with, but in every other year, there is noticeably less pop facing southpaws. Breaking up the two lefty hitters and perhaps letting J-Will see more lefties would be an advantage. I checked M & M's stats. Mauer showed little preference in '06, '08 and '09 (batting championship years), but in other years his splits are more pronounced. Morneau was very good vs. lefties in '06, pretty good in '09 and very good in '10--his three best years. More pronounced splits in the other years.

Let's see, even if Swarzak were promoted to the rotation and Hendriks demoted, the Twins will add Marquis (who would take Hendriks spot) so there really aren't any vacancies in the 'pen. They also have Waldrop eligible to return soon (I imagine he will rehab in Rochester) and have Fien available in Rochester. The two guys who didn't really make the bullpen on merit (Burnett and Gray) have done nothing to get themselves demoted. Burnett could be optioned, but Gray is out of options.

A guy who can play capable defense in both the infield and outfield could be used at the level above Rochester.

I have alway considered Hughes as suspect on defense since he has been moved around a lot in the minors. It has seemed that the Twins were trying to find a place for him to play and not hurt the club too much in the field. As I said earlier, his defense seemed adequate last year, but he only did play thirty-some games at second. I think Hughes' position is pretty solid on the team--he can play three infield positions plus he has minor league experience at the outfield corners. LEN3 has said that he is the emergency catcher as well. I would say that he needs to show promise hitting to get playing time, and that will mean producing while not playing for fairly long stretches.

So the minor league teams finished 2-2?

Nice innings for both Burton and Maloney. I didn't get a chance to type "bring in Gray!" when there were two out.

He's a career utility guy asked to be a regular shortstop at 38. My optimistic take when he was signed was that he was a placeholder and insurance policy. I can't condemn him for being what he is.

Thanks! One of my favorite characters from my favorite TV series.

Plouffe and the Aussie need to hit to play. I was surprised last year by Hughes defense, I thought he would be brutal, but he turned out be unimpressively adequate. I don't think you can consider him for regular play at second, though.

No two situations are exactly the same and some that appear to be equivalent are not similar at all. I don't think there is any racism on the Twins--if there is any evidence it wouldn't be in who they employ on the field, it would be in who they employ off the field. The Twins let three popular white players go this offseason, including one who had to be considered a fan favorite. That is baseball and the timing for the three they let go didn't pan out.

Joe Benson is having a tough time in Rochester. I also see that Tosoni is not playing and that the Twins have been using a catcher in left field--that can't be good.

The Twins are going to have to make some decisions pretty soon. Marquis will move somebody out of the bullpen and the two guys who probably slid in because of Marquis' and Baker's unavailability (Burnett and Gray) have done nothing to get themselves demoted. Gray has two fluke victories and Burnett has thrown three good innings.

For all of the impressive HRs Willingham has hit, I was most impressed with his HR yesterday. He didn't "get it all" but he managed to pull the ball with just enough to get it over the fence. The Twins need to learn how to use their park and Willingham might hit a lot of 350 ft. homers as compared to hitting 390 ft. "cans of corn" to center and the allies.

If Capps gave up five rockets and got the save, it would be more concerning. Two of the six balls were hit well IMHO. It is true that he needs to get a few Ks. 93-94 w/ marginal movement isn't enough to handle good major league hitters.

Well, the Twins got what they wanted--the sacks juiced with the two former MVPs up and........nothing. Honestly, even with all of Mauer's struggles last year, I don't remember him popping up to an infielder. I actually don't recall a single time where Mauer was retired by the infield fly rule. Probably going out of his comfort zone and trying to mash one.

Benson isn't hitting yet at Rochester. I guess it wouldn't make sense to call him up until he has gained a little confidence at the plate. Benson is already pretty good defensively and will get better with more experience as he was more of a football player in High School and he has had some injuries limited his playing time in the minors. I mentioned on another thread that I would really love to see an OF of three of Benson/Hicks/Span/Revere. They would have great range, and Hicks and Benson have good arms to boot. Personally, I would rather the team move Revere when the time comes. I see his weak arm and total lack of power as flaws that he can't make up for. He's got great range and isn't afraid to sacrifice his body, but someone else can have the negatives. Span is signed to a pretty team-friendly contract, is a proven leadoff guy who hits lefties and a more than capable defender. Add Hicks and Benson and you have the tools for a truly great defensive OF sometime this decade.

Nathan, Kubel, Ramos, and Hardy all off to slow starts at last check. If I'm Texas I'm a little worried about Nathan. They are too good to let games slip away because their closer is shaky.