Physics Guy

Ok, I take it back. Nice use of the bullpen.

Are we actually talking about the game? Amazing what a rally will do. Nice use of the bullpen Ausmus. One pitch for Albuquerque.

Or go down looking.

How about now? Would that work?

I hope so. 4 more in the next two weeks would be nice.

The pitchers are certainly affording the defense the opportunity to make some nice double plays tonight.

Nice toss Parmelee.

Have to agree with Dick for once, Parmelee did not take a good route there.

This should absolutely be the case. He doesn't make enough to warrant a spot in the starting rotation. I'd hazzard to guess that there are non-closers in bullpens around the league making what he makes. Put him there if need be.

Levi, I'm not quite following you. Dozier is sitting at .746 OPS. It may not seem like it, but that's still quite a ways from .700-ish. He ended August at the same OPS as July 22. September isn't treating him well. It's possible the losing is getting to him, maybe he's trying to do too much or he's just wearing down. He has played all but 4 games this year.

No concerns at all. He had an .834 OPS in August. September isn't looking so great, but SSS.

I don't like the idea of "sunk cost" on salaries either, but here's the thing. Let's say Shields even gets 5yrs/$100M. Is it possible they don't see much value the last two years? Sure it is. But who do the Twins currently have on their roster who will get a big pay day in the next five years? Mauer's contract expires in four years and Shields' would in five, about the time they have to start paying the new guys on the roster. They can pay Shields $20M a year and still be well below their "salary cap". They only have $60M committed for next year. They can afford it, even if he isn't very valuable at the end of the contract. At worst, I don't see him worse than what we've been trotting out at the #4 & #5 spots in our rotation.

Hicks in CF, Schaefer as 4th OF/backup CF, Santana at SS and Escobar as utility. Santana should get the majority of the starts at SS and Hicks in CF the rest of the way. I guess it comes down to who you think has the higher upside, Hicks or Escobar. I know he has struggled thus far, but I still think Hicks is the better player. Hicks is a year younger, was brought up to the big leagues too early, and has a history of struggling throughout his career when he is promoted. Escobar has shown the ability to play multiple positions in the field, making him an excellent utility infielder. Santana has the stronger hitting record in the majors and minors. If he can play competently at SS, he should start there. Enough with playing IF in the OF. Fine if you want to do it on occasion, but but our OF defense has struggled enough.

I agree that Santana's contract would be the most palatable for Ryan. What do you guys think about those projections? Too high, too low, about right? I also am not sure I want the Twins going after Scherzer and Lester for those amounts. Interesting point made earlier about Scherzer. Either he signs with Detroit or they give him a qualifying offer. That almost undoubtedly takes him off the table for the Twins. Lester is maybe possible if the Red Sox decide not to get in on the bidding and his contract stays under $100 M. My favorite target is Shields. He is one year older than Santana, but has about the same number of innings under his belt. He has shown much greater consistency than Santana. If they can get him for 5/80M, I say go for it. Once again, this may all be a pipe dream. But I also was shocked when they gave Nolasco the contract they did. They only have about $60M committed to next year. SPEND THE MONEY!

Plouffe has turned himself into an adequtate to slightly above average all-around 3B (hitting and fielding). While a playoff caliber roster should not have him in the top half of its lineup, he certainly can have a role as the team gets better (hopefully). His production is pretty similar to what the '91 Twins received from Pags and Leius.

I was thinking about the discussion on: http://twinsdaily.com/topic/15196-2015-starting-rotation-opening-day/ That thread seems to have stalled, so I'd like to go one step further. A large number of posters, me included, seem to be clamoring for the Twins to sign a starter to take our #1 slot. In saying this, I don't necessarily mean an "ace", just somebody who might be better than Phil Hughes this year. In looking at the FA for the upcoming offseason, I found four candidates: Max Scherzer Jon Lester James Shields Ervin Santana When I first thought about it, I immediately took the top two off my list. I didn't see us competing with the big market teams for the top guys. After reading this (ESPN Insider required), I changed my mind: http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/buster-olney/post/_/id/8048 Buster suggested that the Yankees may not be in the market due to the large number of big contracts they are saddled with. Boston strikes me as the only team who might pay the big money, most likely for Lester. Will the Tigers still offer Scherzer the 6yr/$144 M offer they did before the season if there is nobody else to drive up his price? Might there be some bargains at the top of the FA market? If the Yankees and Dodgers aren't buying, the market changes significantly. I still highly doubt Terry Ryan would pay the money for the top two, but maybe the prices for the next two also end up lower than expected. I'm curious what types of contracts people think these four pitchers will receive and would that put them in the range of what the Twins might be willing to spend. My guess: Scherzer 6/144 Don't see Tigers increasing their offer. Same money as Hamels, close to Greinke. Jon Lester 6/132 Shields 5/80 Santana 4/56

1970 here and if I made it through the 70's and early 80's, I'm not quitting now. Plenty of good young players to watch. Santana seems to put together nice at-bats that belie his big-league experience. Vargas and Arcia can give the ball a ride, albeit surrounded by many not-so-pretty at-bats.

This is pretty much what I was thinking as I read through all of the posts. I'd like to see Glynn come up and work with Molitor. Molitor could use his experience on the bench. Promote Doug to AA or AAA to continue working with our top prospects. Saying that, I also wouldn't be opposed to Doug being hired.

Stringer - I think something may be physically wrong with Masterson. His BB/9 is almost 5 and his average fastball velocity is down over 2 mph (91.6 to 88.9). If we are signing somebody, I'd like to shoot a bit higher. Hughes' velo had stayed pretty consistent.

From what I see, the prevailing opinion is what I see happening: Hughes Gibson Nolasco May Millone/Meyer/Pellfrey (please no!) What I want to happen: Scherzer/Lester Hughes Gibson Nolasco May/Meyer AAA - Millone and Pellfrey What Ryan might be willing to do: Shields/Iwakuma Hughes Gibson Nolasco May/Meyer From what I can tell, they have about $60M committed to next year and cold afford one of the top 4 FA available above. I don't see them getting into a bidding war for Scherzer or Lester but think Shields or Iwakuma might be realistic.

Without knowing much about him, Beresford strikes me as a guy who could fill the utility IF role for a few years at the big league level. The only way that happens is if Plouffe or Escobar get traded in Sept to a team in need. Is he capable of playing a solid SS at the major league level?

Before even reading most of the post I would have put it around Nolasco money also.

Starting 3B until somebody takes his spot from him. Valuable bench player until he slides or prices himself out of a bench spot.

That article doesn't make sense. Walking boot on Sunday when he injured it on Saturday, but then he explains it happened in an Astro's game we lost 10-4 (which was on Tuesday). Anybody else confused?

Download attachment: joe-benson.jpg It has been a tough offseason for many readers of Twins Daily. What started out with great promise, trades involving Span and Revere, has ended with a big thud. In the eyes of many, the Twins failed to shore up their biggest weakness from last year, the rotation. As I read thread after thread on the Twins Talk forum over the past couple of months there was a decided negativity about the direction of the Twins. Twins fans have felt that Terry Ryan did not live up to his pledge to improve the rotation. While I am disappointed that more wasn't done, I think we are in better shape now than we were at the end of the season. As they say, hope springs eternal. I am encouraged by the positivity displayed on the forum over the past couple of weeks. Maybe it is due to Spring Training.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ESPN released a Top 100 Prospects list as well as organizational rankings that gave Twins fans something to be positive about. It's easy to get excited about these prospects, but many are years from contributing for the Twins (Sano, Buxton, Rosario, Kepler). In that vein, I thought I would put a different spin on the Top 10 Prospects list. I have put together a list of the top 10 players that I think have a chance to break in with the Twins this year. I'm stretching the term "prospect" for some of them, so bear with me. The rankings are based on probability that they can make it to the show as well as their chances of performing well. I have eliminated players who have spent significant time in the majors already such as all of the MI candidates as well as Robertson (40GP). So here goes my first blog attempt: #10) Alex Meyer - I don't see it happening this season, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. At best Meyer would be looking at a September callup. Meyer is only 3 months younger that Trevor May, but could use more seasoning. It would take a breakout season for him to get a look. #9) Chris Colabello - He will be 29 this season and is too old to truly be a prospect, but I think he stands a chance as a bat off the bench if and only if Morneau and/or Willingham get traded. It would be nice to have a RH bat with some pop to platoon with Parmelee on occasion against tough LHP. #8) Anthony Slama - Put me in the "Free Slama" camp. I still don't understand why he hasn't been given a chance. Jeff Gray gets 52 IP last year??? That being said, the Twins don't seem to think he can get big-league hitters out. I think several of Roenicke, Pressley, Swarzak, Burnett and Robertson would have to fail for him to get a chance. #7) Trevor May - He threw 100+ innings in AA ball last year. If he can find his command this year, he could push his way up the pecking order fairly quickly. He will be 23 this season and shouldn't be blocked by the retreads sitting in AAA. Meyer seems to have slightly higher upside, but May seems to be higher up the ladder at this point. #6) Caleb Thielbar - Following a solid showing in AA and AAA last year, Thielbar was added to the 40-man roster this offseason. It appears as though he has passed Slama up in the eyes of the Twins. Like Slama, it would take some bullpen issues for him to be given a chance this year. #5 Chris Herrmann - At this point we start to get to players with a reasonable chance of making it to the show. If either Doumitt or Mauer were to get hurt, Herrmann should be the replacement. If Butera were to get hurt, I would guess the Twins turn to Rivera instead. Signing Doumitt to an extension hurt Herrmann's chances this year. His OF versatility certainly helps. #4 Oswaldo Arcia - Arcia had a breakout season at AA last year and is likely close to being ready. If he were called up, he should be playing everyday. A Morneau or Willingham trade/injury or ineffectiveness/injury for Parmelee would be the likely reason. Right now he is probably blocked and should start at AAA. #3 Joe Benson - I hesitate putting Benson ahead of Arcia, since I think Arcia is the better prospect. This is more about opportunity. Benson has the ability to play CF which is open for the taking. If he can re-establish his status, he has a decent chance this year. His arm and power also play in RF which helps his cause if Mastroianni grabs the starting CF gig. #2 Kyle Gibson - Gibson would have been #1 at the end of the season. By all accounts he threw well at the end of the season, actually throwing harder than he did prior to surgery. The surgery is what will hold him back. He's as near a lock as anybody to play for the Twins this year. He just may not start the season with them to control his innings. #1 Aaron Hicks - Ladies and Gentlemen, your next CF and leadoff hitter for the Twins. Barring a major setback in Spring Training, I'd have to say he's nearly a lock to start the season with the Twins. This pick is all about opportunity. The trades made by the Twins indicate they feel he is ready. He finally started showing the potential the Twins felt he had this past summer in New Britain. His minor league numbers compare favorably to Torii Hunter with more plate discipline. Click here to view the article