Physics Guy

Nice summary of the position. There is no real battle here as Plouffe is clearly the best option. The Twins don't have any decent options outside of Plouffe and it really doesn't seem as though there is a candidate in the minors that is close. I can't see how Sano would be ready until 2015 at the earliest if he remains at 3B. I'm really hoping Plouffe can at least be average in the field and lift his average to .260.

I also would be on board with the move as it would allow Escobar to play full-time in AAA. I am on record back in January as saying I wish they had signed him. I don't necessarily agree with John that Florimon is a lost cause, but I would like to have a proven option in case he doesn't pan out. I am still on board with giving Florimon the job. Cedeno is 30 and should be able to accept a bench role.

I am really pulling for him to get at least a chance as a short-term injury replacement at some point this year. If he could play a little OF it might help, but his minor league stats don't indicate it.

I agree for the most part that Benson can give above average to elite defense, but not sure he can hit enough yet to be a 4th OF. Doesn't he need to hit at least .250? I might put his floor at AAA OF, unless you are OK with a .220 4th OF. I don't think the Twins were, hence going from Komatsu to Thomas to Mastro last year. Benson did hit .239 in what was considered an unimpressive debut in 2011, so maybe he's not far off. He just needs to show that 2012 was about injuries and not regression.

At the start of spring training, I had Hendriks as nearly a lock for the rotation. This was assuming Diamond wouldn't be ready. If Deduno keeps pitching well he could very well pass up Hendriks. Honestly, DeVries may be passing him up also. There were some interesting comments from the coaching staff following Hendriks' last start.

Having a SS who can't make plays hurts substantially more. I'm not sure anybody thinks it's great to have a .600 OPS batter in a lineup. Having him hit in the 9-hole just isn't a huge deal when the league average in the AL was .641. His OPS was .579 last year and if he can cut down on K's his OPS should go up. If he can get into the low .600's it isn't a huge issue, IF he produces in the field the way they hope. As an aside, the Twins got .592, .658 and .631 last year out of the 7,8 and 9 spots.

Nice upgrades. I appreciate the wider text area and larger font. Haven't checked it yet on the iPad, but it looks great on FF on my PC.

I can only hope that Hicks doesn't turn out to be "Player B". I'd gladly take his 1996 season for a couple of years, but hopefully Hicks improves beyond that and doesn't fall flat on his face like Player B. If so, Buxton had better develop in a hurry.

I've lost track whether the criticisms posted in this thread are directed at Reusse or at other comments. My head is spinning a bit. I agree with John that this would have been interesting had it been written in 2010 when the Twins were doing well. I have no doubt there were still people angry at the Twins that year. While I enjoy reading Reusse's columns, I don't always agree with him. He certainly has a cynical side to him, but I don't consider him negative. When I was younger, I had a hard time reading him as I thought he was too negative. Now I consider him more of a realist because I no longer feel that the teams I follow can do no wrong. Reusse is a lifetime follower of baseball and I always enjoy his articles about amateur ball in Minnesota. I agreed with his ending that if you can't get excited about a prospect stepping up to take a spot that has clearly been opened for him, then you really have a hard time getting excited about anything.

Agree somewhat in that l don't like the ones they wore for the their championship seasons. I have never liked the lower case m hats and have never owned one. I was happy to see them bring back the TC logo. The new road uniforms are fine and a significant upgrade to the gray with pinstripes. I really wish they would make the Saturday throwbacks their full-time home uniforms. They could then use the old powder-blues as an alternate (just kidding).

I think josecordoba was referring to OBP/SLG when saying .350/.450 which would put him at .800 OPS. His argument was that he was skeptical of him being an annual .800 OPS guy. I think you misinterpreted what he meant for .350/.450. I on the other hand believe he will sit around .780 this year and be a .825 - .850 guy in the future. Not quite what Morneau is capable of (.900+) but certainly acceptable at 1B for a team that has other issues to address.

Oops, should have read all the posts.

You mean streamed on the Internet by the station, correct?

Are you serious? Buxton is a top 25 prospect by nearly all accounts. Picking 3 and 5 in what is considered to be a down year would not be better.

I also agree with Seth's take. Carroll is a veteran who is capable of stepping in at any time and providing decent performance. You know what you are getting from him, but he is 39 and he probably shouldn't be getting more than 400 AB. It's been my impression that young guys do not know how to handle intermittent playing time. They either need to be playing or in AAA. Veterans know how to handle it and often thrive on it when they get up in years. Thome would be a good example. He gave the Twins great production as long as they didn't play him too often. Carroll obviously isn't in as much danger of breaking down as Thome was, but I still think he benefits from not playing every day.

I agree that the stars may be aligning for Chris. Gardy's desire to get more pop off the bench could be the answer to Colabello's prayers (as well as the prayers of those hoping to rid the bench of one Drew Butera). What a "feel good" story it would be if Colabello broke camp with the Twins.

Wow. Now that is a bold statement. I'd like you to say that face to face with Hunter or a few others on those teams. You must have some type of insider information to be able to make such a statement. Or is it just more rhetoric to rip on Gardy that we should just accept as truth because you say so? Of course teams work their tails off all season to make the playoffs and then say, "Good enough, let's go home."

Sorry for being such a hoser, I take it back.

A little too close to home, eh? (Sorry couldn't resist.)

I think you are missing something here. How often do players extend contracts way past their arbitration years? Young guys that are extended rarely will sign contracts more than a year into what would be their free agency years. Even if Ryan had wanted to sign him for six years (which I doubt), I'm skeptical that Santana would have signed.

Well said. Having grown up watching the Twins of the late 70's (post-Carew) and early 80's, I can handle a couple of bad years. While this year might not be great, it is easy to look forward to the following years. Gardy will have to earn his extension by showing he can work with young players and help build a contender from the ground up. Terry Ryan isn't going anywhere soon.

Thanks! That was awesome. I love Perk's truck. I read somewhere that one of the clubhouse guys drove it down from MN.

By the way, big difference: Chilly 39-35 (.527) vs Gardy at .523 Gardy in playoffs 6/11 seasons, where a smaller percentage of teams make it in. Chilly 2/5

Seriously? We are comparing baseball records to football records? The best team in baseball was 0.605 winning percentage. Chicago didn't make the playoffs in the NFL last year at 10-6 (.625). If you want to argue that Gardy should be fired you need to come up with a better comparison. Sparky Anderson .545 Win % Whitey Herzog .532 Tommy Lasorda .526 Gardenhire .523

Many players like Mastroianni never get a chance to become a starter. If everything falls into place for him maybe he approaches a Lew Ford-type season. I doubt that happens, but I can't say I would complain if it does and he delays Hicks. At worst, he provides a solid option as a 4th outfielder who can play all three positions.