roger

Looks to me like a very good pitching staff, with solid defense. At first glance, the hitting looks a bit marginal, expecially after having Benson, Parmelee, Dozier and Solarte last year. But after looking at it for awhile, Herrmann, Mastrioanni, Dolenc and Bigley all should be solid. Beresford gets on base a lot and Colabello tore the cover the ball last year in an Independant league. Expect Herrmann will see half his time in the outfield or DH with Lehmann, then Lehmann will DH alot when Herrmann catches. If Hicks can step forward and hit close to .300 with a little pop, could be another team that will battle for a playoff spot.

Seth, I see that the New Britain roster was announced last night (online at the New Britain Herald). Several surprises of who is, and isn't, on the roster. Biggest surprises to me were that Oliveros, Perdomo and French are all on the pitching staff. Also a bit of a surprise that Mastroianni is in New Britain...listed as a second baseman. They only have three outfielders, however, so expect Mastroianni will see some time in the outfield. D. J. Romero is back as their third baseman.

With league revenue sharing gone or mostly gone and this year's budget for signing draft picks up by $6 million or more, where is the money supposed to come from? Last year's budget had to be cut to take these two changes into consideration.

Yes there are

Wow, Bashore is a big surprise to me also. I had heard that he made a lot of progress last year before tiring in August. The others were expected and with everyone fighting for infield jobs at Rochester, Pearce isn't a surprise. Tootle is a bit of a shame, however, another guy who never got back from his injuries. Have you heard anything this spring about Gallant? I was told he was looking good last fall and over the winter.

Yes! As you know Seth, I have been preaching that Hughes should be the starting second baseman since last season ended. Forget UZR, my eyes tell me that Hughes is a solid second baseman. Not flashy, not exceptional, but solid! Does he have Casilla's range, probably not. But then in a lot of games, Casilla doesn't have Casilla's range. He is decent turning the double play and won't hurt the team at second. Offensively, he can hit .265-.280 average with 20+ home runs. Not that he will do it this year, but he will hit like that next year if he starts most of this year. I will be surprised if he is the starter on opening day. I expect however, that he will be the starter come August with Dozier at short. The answer to your question in Morneau, Mauer and Nick Blackburn.

Lets remember that several of those runs were when he came in to mop up the 10 run first inning of Doyle's start. He allowed several runs after not having adequate time to warm up.

I have seen a lot of comparisons to Torii Hunter. Personally, I see Benson as eventually being better than Hunter. A step faster, same football mentality in the outfield, top defender, a lot of power, and yes, he will continue to strike out a bit too often. All-Star, yes!

Benson will likely be the Twins centerfielder for a decade, beginning sometime in 2013. You don't trade future all-stars. On the other hand, I see the Twins moving one of the four. Just not Benson!

I will second that!

If they do bring a utility man north, there is some talk about Floriman getting into the mix for the utility spot. He has seen reasonable playing time of late. Kudos to Mr. Ryan for making the right decision regarding Nishioka!

Love the optiminism, 147 games has to include some in the playoffs?

Maloney is on the 40-man roster. The Twins will get an added spot when Zumaya is moved to the 60day disabled list. A second spot will be available when they waive Jeff Gray. He will either be selected by another team or clear waivers and go to Rochester, in which case he would come off the 40-man roster. The only way he keeps his spot on the roster is to make the team for opening day which isn't going to happen.

Lets give Swarzak a pass on yesterday's performance. I wasn't listening, but from what I understand he came into a bad situation in the first inning without adequate time to warm up. He pitched a good second inning, then a decent third except for the one pitch.

Swarzak is out of options. Manship and Burnett each have one remaining. I agree with Seth, send Burnett to Rochester so he can get half to most of a year experience at that level. I have liked Maloney and Burton since the were signed and remain hopeful they will be fine in the bullpen. Last spot for me comes down to Waldrop or Manship and looks like Waldrop has the edge right now.

Gotta be pulling for Waldrop who was on the fast track before his injury derailed his career. Plus, the kid passed on a wonderful education at Vandy to join the Twins. I for one remain hopeful that he can be a big add to this year's bullpen!

I agree with dave_dw, it is time to get this season going! I certainly hope Jack isn't suggesting that the Twins waive Burnett. The kid has a ton of talent and needs a year at Rochester. I expect he is pitching his way to upstate New York this spring. With Capps, Perkins, Duensing and Swarzak locks for the pen, it should be fun seeing who gets the last three spots. It looks to me as a battle between Manship, Waldrop, Maloney and Burton. Both Manship and Waldrop have options remaining which may play into the decision, although Ryan has said it doesn't.

It is interesting that the many people who talk about Dozier being better suited for second base aren't players he has played with. As Seth has often pointed out, pitchers love having Dozier at shortstop when they are on the mound. Who should we go with, the opinions of bloggers/fans or the guys throwing the ball every day?

Parker, when I read your headline I asked should you have used 'will' rather than 'can?' That has always been the problem with Alexi. Will this finally be the year when will and can will merge into he does? I hope so and to be honest, have a gut feeling that he will...provided he is healthy enough to play over 120 games.

Good morning Seth, I see that most fans didn't consider Dozier a prospect until this past year. Well, they should have. Yes, he was drafted as a college player so he is a bit older. After the draft in 2009, he hit .353 average in 53 games at Elizabethton. Right there is when he should have been a prospect on everyone's radar, he certainly was on mine. In 2010 he hit .278 average at Beloit then didn't see a big drop when moving up to the pitcher friendly FSL where he hit .274 and took more walks (44) than strikeouts (41). I look for him to begin his season in Rochester until one of the CC's gets injured. Then he will come up and assume the starting shortstop job which he should keep for many years.

Seth, is this about upside or who we think will have the best season in 2012? If it is the later, just may be Casilla.

Have a great camp A.J.

Thanks Seth, great news about Gibson. Really looking forward to see how Gallant does.

Nick, I came to this site for the first time a few days ago when Seth discontinued his site which I always enjoyed and contributed to a few times a year. Over the years, I have gotten to know Seth and consider him a friend. Thus, I was anxious to see what this new site was all about. Then my first couple days here, I saw John's article with the title referring to Mr. Ryan's 'foolish' decison. Then I read your article and the combination just plain got to me. I also am not familiar with your writing. I make an effort of staying away from negatism in my posts as I view my role as one to report on what happens in the organization. I understand how hard most of the minor league kids work and how difficult it is to be successful in this business. I also understand that everyone is entitled to their opinion and the discussion between people with differing opinions is what makes most of these sites worthwhile. As to my comments on Seth's article, they really weren't aimed at you. It was more speaking to a friend regarding the death of his site.

Thanks Seth for a rational and intelligent look at the bullpen situation. The Twins now have a month to see who amongst this group 'earns that job.' Personally, I am having a bit of a rough time with this new site. As you know, I don't care for a lot of the negativism that appears here. Is also tough when one disagrees and is immediately asked to no longer read/comment on certain individuals posts. Think I am going to miss sethspeaks.net, but I certainly understand your motivation for moving here.