Monkeypaws

I am hoping you thoughts on Gibson will prove true.

I've seen him with his boys at Target Field - great guy. Love the story of him hiding in Hunter's car. Didn't he fill Ortiz's underwear with peanut butter as well, amongst other pranks?

People assume Santana will regress, but I'd keep him there until he actually does regress.

Good write-up Nick. I think the Twins have done well in erring to the side of caution with Meyer. It would be awesome if Allen could help him smooth out the mechanics and find consistency and durability down the road.

For a guy drafted out of college, who has shown major power at every level, I don't see any value in repeating A ball. If he was to repeat a level, make it AA. As for the comparison to Arcia, point taken, but then again, Arcia exhibits many of the same characteristics that people cite as a reason for Walker to start in Fort Myers.

Walker is 6 months younger than Arcia - push push push!

In the article it says Rogers arsenal sits in the upper 80s. Who's right?

I see the Twins and White Sox moving back to the top in the next few seasons - it'll be like old times. Didin't realize the Royals made it to the WS with 89 regular season wins.

Looking at a possible starting lineup for this coming season, and hoping for improvement from youth, and no regression from vets, and the overall offensive potential with a manager that seems willing to play to strengths, I can feel somewhat optimistic, espcially and Santan and Nolasco deliver: Batting order: 1. Danny Santana - CF: I think he should stay in CF until someone better can play there, or move him to SS at least. Are hicks and Schaffer better than Escobar? At this point, no way. 2. Brian Dozier - 2B: No surprise here. 3. Joe Mauer - 1B: Here’s hoping for a big bounce back year. His average season would keep the juice flowing at the top of the lineup. 4. Trevor Plouffe - 3B: Not the hot pick here, but looking at his run production last season, and the desire to set up a righty lefty swine in the middle of the lineup, this is where he goes. If he can continue to improve his plate discipline, and average, he could fill this role quite well. 5. Kennys Vargas - DH: Love having a switch hitting DH with big time power, especially in the 5 hole. Of course I hope he builds on last season’s performance. 6. Torii Hunter - LF: I’m not sure if Torii was signed to play right or left field, but I like Oswaldo too much in RF to change that. Here’s another tough out in the middle of the lineup with some pop. I debated flip flopping him for Plouffe in the clean-up slot, and that could change, but I like this configuration better at the moment. 7. Oswaldo Arcia - RF: Possible in the 5 hole as well - I like him in the 7 spot, hella power deep into the batting order. If his average climbs, the 5 spot is his. 8.Kurt Suzuki - C: Having this guy hit 8 is a luxury: over .700 ops, rarely whiffs, keeps the rally going. 9. Eduardo Escobar - SS: Pretty underrated on these boards from all the Santana to SS talk on these boards. Good defense AND offense from your #9 hitting shortstop, sign me up! I could see some of those big numbers like 20, 16, 13, 12 runs of last season on good nights.

What is about Quade that you folks like?

Having Hughes and Santana at the front of the rotation going forward looks good to me, better than what we've had in a good while. If they and Nolasco or Gibson can put in 200+ innings each, our bullpen would probably be better off as well. A slightly better Gibson would be huge: he did have a winning record at 13-12 and did throw almost 180 innings.

I always enjoyed seeing the lists of youngest players by league - you get a real feel for who is truly elite on those. Kind of like this one, except not confined to opening day: http://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/whos-the-youngest-in-each-league-opening-day-2014/

Then there is the poster child for rushed prospects, Eddie Bane: straight from ASU to the bigs at 21, out of major league ball by 24.

Nice - takes some of the pressure off Hughes. Sure looks better than a rotation where Diamond, Correia, and Pelfrey are your top 3.

Actually, after hearing his press conference, in spite of my previous rah rah post, my next question is, why do I bother with pro sports? Really, I'm a grown man. The better part of me calls me on the absurdity of it all.

Okay, some of you take your baseball and the Twins WAAAYYY to seriously IMHO. Torii chose to come back to the Twins. Reportedly he left money and/or years on the table, to come back to the Twins, losers of 90 games a season since forever. Yeah he's older, not even good a fielder any more, probably won't hit as well, I don't care, and I don't care about the Pohlad fortune; they can afford it. What has had me smiling all day is a great Twin chose to come back here and try to help rebuild the specialness of a team that had it in spades back in the day, that "played the game the right way." Souhan's story about Puckett opening his wallet to a young Hunter, that's what has been missing, real star-power AND personality that can influence young guys to work harder and have fun too. No way are the Twins worse off having this guy back in the fold. Somewhat off-topic, but the Edmonton Oilers are proof you can have all the glorious prospects in the world, but without the proper mentorship, they founder. I am hoping Hicks and Arcia will be the first beneficiaries of this, then Buxton. I think of it as an add to the coaching staff as well. Anyhoo, baseball is a pleasure and pastime, and getting back one of my favorite Twins ever is more a cause of celebration than despair. Please take this as it is intended, but there is an emotional side to the game that gets lost in stats and advanced stats and uber-advanced stats. Feel good stories should be enjoyed even if the numbers don't add up.

I think next season will be boom or, if not bust, at least meh for Trevor. To give him a big deal now would be a heckuva risk imo. He's been improving, like a prospect and former 1st rounder should. I'd love to see him make the Twins regret not doing a big deal this off-season, and just take it to the next level. The Twins can afford to err conservatively at this point, and reap the rewards of a successful 1st rounder who developed into a star later. Sure they might save money signing him now, but if they wait a year and he explodes, they still have a star under team control. Dammit, that's why Target Field was built, so we wouldn't have to penny pinch the stars in our own fold. I think the nibblenuts mentality has to change; the dough is there. If after the next season Plouffe has peaked or declined, cut the cord; he still seems on the upswing, so I'd go with the flow. Same with Dozier. This isn't like the NHL where you have a salary cap in effect. There is no moving target here, except an owners willingness to put a winning product on the field. As for selling high, I don't believe in selling productive big leaguers for prospects unless the team is in a winning mode and the heir apparent is MLB ready. There, I'm done.

Trying to make all pitchers conform to a single philosophy sounds like a bad idea. I'd like a coach to try to maximize the strengths of the individuals, even if it involves two entirely different approaches with two different pitchers. It's like trying to make David Ortiz hit the ball to the opposite field.

I guess Ryan can't win.... Twins dont have much for lefties; this guy moves near the top of the class.

His suspension is a big red flag for me - is this the behavior of someone "battling his tail off" to be the best ball player he can be? Nope. Floating on talent isn't a characteristic upon which to build a great MLB career.

Could end up being an expensive dice roll.

I am a proponent of depth. Escobar is a perfect guy to keep around because he is versatile, can fill in as a spot starter, pinch hitter, late inning defensive replacement, or even long-term injury replacement, and he can do this at numerous positions as well, including some important ones like SS. He can help prevent the middle-left side of the Twins infield from looking like their outfield last season.

Love see him teach the screwball to our pitchers

Nice work Seth - this just goes to show how complex the life of a baseball executive can be. Hermsen is a good case; lingering results of injury? washed-up? Hate to give up on a 24 year old who has shown promise. It is interesting how many guys choose to re-up with the Twins. It is a fundamentally good organization IMO.

Speed at the top and bottom of the lineup, with power in the middle. I still like situational ball too - KC has pulled all my strings this off-season as a fan. Also, a bench that has something to offer other than mediocrity: elite speed for pinch running. power for pinch hitting, leather for defensive replacement. A bench of guys that are basically not as good as your starters is kind of useless. No offense to Hermann, Nunez, Parmalee, but really, why?