DocBauer

Escobar needs to be the guy for now. He may not be great, but he's solid and consistent in the field and at the plate. I get Santana has more upside. I get he got first shot this season based on the greater overall athletic ability and potential and what he did last season. Maybe we'll see that player again. I really hope so because the tools are there. By all accounts the attitude is there. We've seen how exciting he can be. But right now, Santana just looks lost. I don't have an exact answer what to do with everyone as Polanco needs to play every day at Rochester, and then get some work up at the ML level. He's had a couple, all too brief, teasing cups of coffee at the ML level. He needs some real September time with the club to help prepare him for ST next year. There are people on this board who know an awful lot more about Polanco and his defense than I do. People who have actually watched him play. But no cannon arm and a few errors, or bunches/batches of errors at times doesn't concern me at this time. He's young. Hes a milb prospect. He's playing at different milb levels with other milb players on milb fields. Even the best ML infielders, if you reflect on their early ML career and their milb start, you will see a lot of errors. It takes time to learn. If being a great SS was just range and strong arm, Santana would already look like a star.

Yes to making trades to improve the club. Yes to bag of balls and a pack of grape flavored bubblegum for an older vet set up man or catcher in a salary dump type move that is short term. Doesnt cost much. Helps the '15 season. Always the option of a re-sign. RP easier to find than catchers...but still. No to the mid season BIG MOVE. Not unless it was someone under 30 with team control for a few more years. Otherwise, you are overbuying mid season when you should wait until the offseason to shop big. As to why the Twins might be better next season, closer to a REAL contender, it is simply a matter of tweaks you may/can make, and Rosario, Hicks, Buxton, Sano, Gibson, May andothers more experienced, further along. Arcia and/or Vargas could be right, or closer. Polanco or Escobar may seize SS. Etc, etc, etc.

There comes a time when the player with lesser talent simply becomes the better player due to consistency. Despite a disappointing year, Escobar has still shown greater flashes of production and consistency than Santana. He deserves to be given the job at this point.

Man, how about some more love for Berrios? In his interview at the Futures Games, he explains exactly why he didn't pitch as well his fir couple times out...what he has to do, and is going to do to be better...then just goes out and does it!

I actually have noticed some of the mentioned contributions from Samtana, Escobar and Suzuki despite disappointing seasons. Imagine Santana or Escobar playing something like last season and claiming the full time job. And imagine Suzuki doing what he does overall as a co-catcher or #2 guy. Nice. While there are no guarantees as to the '16 roster, who is ready, who is performing, etc, I find myself already looking ahead. Is there room for Mauer at 1B/DH, Plouffe at 3B/1B/DH, Sano at 3B/DH, Rosario, Buxton, Hicks in the OF with possibly Arcia and a somewhat surprise return of Hunter as DH/backup OF'ers and Kepler in the wings and possibly close?

One hell of a post Tom! Thank you! Always felt, no matter how much I admired, liked or approved of TR as a GM or person, track record or not, that he simply counted on/promoted Hicks too soon based on hope, potential, and Hunter similarities. He absolutely blew CF the past few seasons. But it seems to me we are watching Hicks grow up right before our eyes as a young man and a baseball player. I could see it in ST with the new leg kick. Even when he didn't necessarily hit right away after his promotion this season, you could see a different spine when he left the batter's box...one way or another. And you could see it in the way he played defense. And the defense, previously slandered the past couple of seasons, sometimes deservedly so, has been very good to outstanding. Seems to keep getting better. Three potentials here; none of them poor. He's either a solid, quality all around corner OF who provides great defense and backup CF ability. (Or potential starting CF to let Buxton be less fatigued or injury risk in RF??) Or a top overall 4th OF with multiple ways to jelly the team. Or a potentially top trade prospect. Really, really like what we're seeing out of Hicks these days.

I soooo want to agree with you on this.....I really, really want to. Kepler should be up, and soon, soon as he's feeling himself again. Thought he should have been a week or so ago. But try as I might, I just can't give a nod of the head for ABW II. He is one of my favorite Twins prospects, and I have very high, cross your fingers, type of hope for him. He is at his highest level of competition, and yet, despite a somewhat poor start, is actually having his very best season. That says something! And even with high SO numbers that will probably continue at the ML level, there is presedence to indicate he can hit OK, have big power numbers and RBI totals, and be a big contributor with a somewhat all or nothing approach. (Though a few walks sprinkled in could pay off in a HUGE way!) But despite his impressive season, potential, and even ability (potentially-athletically) to play a decent OF, there is this gut feeling I have that he should stick it out at Chatanooga for the remainder of the year. My gut says he should continue his success and improvement, round off some rough edges, keep working, keep working on his defense as well, and take all this great production and improvement, even little improvements, and use it for a fresh start at Rochester next season. I'm sure the Twins know a great deal more than I do, but again, it's a gut feeling.

Much as I wrote in a colum a week or so ago, I say here in brief to echo this excellent article: what do the Twins need to do the rest of the way? Keep winning...without doing anything silly to mortgage the future, (a future that is just begining)....but keep playing and promoting the talented prospects. And for the most part, they've been doing that. Kepler is the only youngsters I can really say now is being held down. And even that's a little iffy as this is his first real breakout season. But I believe he's showing so much polish and potential it's time to move him to Rochester. For that matter, while I hate to continue the devastation of the Lookouts roster, I believe Vargs should be back at Rochester ASAP as well. What's he got to prove in AA ball? Keep winning, keep enjoying, keep making moves as necessary, but between the parent club and AAA, we need everyone playing as much as possible and being pushed upward as much as "smartly" possible. The results will be more depth, more competition, and in a case or two, possibly stronger trade value as well from which to deal from, both veteran and youngster.

Anyone have any kind of scouting report that is current on the young D Rodriguez at E Town? Seems to be pretty impressive, but he's also been in rookie ball a few years as a failed OF. I'm wondering if his success as a RP last season and success this far as a SP might not indicate a bump to CR in the not too distant future.

Great article, but it makes me feel a little stupid. In theory, generally, pitchers always perform better against same sided hitters. Harder to pick up the ball, etc. So why on earth did it ever become vague to only throw a change to an opposite hand hitter?

Pressly being hurt doesn't help as he was actually pitching fairly well. Graham has been a huge surprise to me! Aren't you being blind, short- sighted or borderline stupid not to give Duffy a shot in the pen. He can always move back to a starting role later. (Same with Meyer naturally) I haven't always been on board with this idea, but I've come around on it. I like the Hawkins idea. I like giving Joba Chamberlain a shot. But I'm not in favor of trading for anyone, this season, unless they can realistically be expected to be part of the tea for at least a few years.

In general principal, I object to giving anyone 16yo anything close to $4M when they haven't really accomplished anything yet, and have barely reached legal driving age. For that matter, I don't like giving an 18yo that kind of money either. But such is the world of sports and entertainment we live in. Generally speaking, year to year, I'd love for the Twin to spread their money around and sign several high quality prospects, say 4-5 or so. Quantity and quality both! However, the problem is, EVERYONE would like to spread their money around to various prospects and sign both quantity and quality. I still don't quite grasp all of the ramifications of restrictions for teams next year. But it appears as though half the league will be restricted, leaving more financial maneuverability for us to play the quantity and quality game for real. In regard to Javier, it is sooo hard to scout and project American high school kids, I don't know how on earth you accurately scout and project out an equivalent sophomore in a Latin country. But sometimes I can really appreciate the "go for it" mentality. If the Twins really believe in this kids potential, and really think they got in early on perhaps the top prospect available, (potentially), I'm kind of excited to the gamble and the aggressiveness shown. I dare say its a combination of belief, as well as recognition they may have less opposition next year in spreading a wider net.

Love the potential, despite a high K rate that may never drop to where we want it to be. But thus far in his short career, he has made adjustments, and has performed at a pretty constant level. In fact, I dare say he's made more adjustments and more improvement this season than any other. And this, perhaps he finest season yet, comes at the AA level. So what if strikes out too much to hit 3 or 4. Maybe he strikes out too much to hit 5th. But he could be an absolute terror in the 6 or 7 hole if nothing else. (And honestly, Dozier, Sano, Kepler and others, might be the only spots with room anyway. But with his propensity for strikeouts, with the success and improvement under way, I'm in favor of keeping him at AA for the remainder of the season. Just feels like a necessary, logical step in his evolution and development as a player. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Stick a fork in him. He's done! What..........................................too soon?

In regard to Santana........COME ON! Anyone really going to scold me if I use the term; "reality check"? Who....and I mean WHO ever said anything about Johan? We signed a proven, quality, expensive but market average cost, RHSP with a really nice track record to bolster our team. A guy slightly more expensive and a bit better than the tough luck Nolasco, and the steal of Hughes....again...more expensive, but better overall. Lest we forget, I was in favor of Santana over Nolasco, but not by much, and was OK with the Nolasco signing. Forget his tough start to his Twins career. He is NOT a bad pitcher. Maybe a bad fit in the end, bad karma or bad luck that should force a name change to Murphy, but he is not a bad pitcher. If you look at career numbers, you will see that Santana is, and always has been, a bit better than Nolasco. (Albeit not by a great margin) Just for a moment, can we drop the whole ACE mentality here? There is a difference between an ACE and a #1 SP on most staffs. Honestly, it's a really, really small, almost tiny difference. Sometimes, you even have to break down smaller numbers to see the difference. But overall, generally speaking, if you don't recognize that slim difference, you probably aren't a real baseball fan. Sorry. Truth. Then comes "top of the rotation starter", which really means anything from dominate #2 SP to really good/potentially dominate #3 SP. Career numbers, Santana ranks ahead of Nolasco....but not by that much really. I know it sounds easy to say that a pitcher put up better numbers when he pitched for a better team. But as there is a difference between different players and pitchers, if you remove the elite, there is also a difference in "rising to the occassion" as opposed to doing their best. Hence, an OK SP "rises" when surrounded by quality supporting cast. Santana and Nolasco are similar, quality, experienced MLSP. However, Santana still wins out in comparison. And since when does any kind of warm up or rehab with a ML vet even matter in regard to ML comparable stats?

Shaking my head a bit. What I DONT know: How good Polanco can actually be. And except for a few innings, what he looks like on a consistent basis. How unforced or correctable his errors are. What I DO Know, or THINK I know: Polanco was signed as a SS, a GLOVE MAN, not as an offensive player. In fact, when signed, the talk was about defense and speed with his bat questionable. Kid has turned out to have a quality bat, with pop, ability to hit for average, and a knack for the big hit. He's done so well at it, that he keeps getting dropped from the 2 hole in the order to the 3 spot. And he shows the potential to be even better! I also know that with very, very little exception, I have never seen a quality SS, even a future Gold Glover, not struggle with some errors, not only in the minors, but in the majors as well. Deal with it, it's reality. Santana has a ton of ability if he can harness it. If he can't, he has a chance to still be solid, and useful, and potentially a quality LF who can also help in CF and SS. 2B? Polanco seems more smooth, more natural in what he does. I absolutely, positively would not give up on Santana, (unless traded of course), but I would also not wait too long to give Polanco a REAL CHANCE to show what he can do, not just a game or two. He just might be a viable, long term solution at SS. What are the Twins afraid of at this point?

Yes. Didn't see or hear the game tonight. Don't care what happened when a rookie pitcher with amazing stuff comes up and, apparently from the previous comments, as an egg of indeterminable size. Tonkin can't find consistency. Oliveros needs a ne deserved a shot, but is suddenly not available. (Probably from being used inexcusably incorrectly lately) Out AA bullpen is big on potential, way short on readiness. (And some were calling for various members a to skip AA, AAA, ST or logic and go straight to the Twins bullpen.) The truth is, as long as he's not overworked, (and he has been each of the last two seasons but probably won't be this year), Fien is a real find and very solid. I don't know who this Boyer guy is, but he's surprised the heck out of me! Just don't overwork him! Graham has been almost as big of a surprise, and honestly, I'd like to see him more. Meyer has mad stuff. Meyer will hopefully return to the rotation one of these days, finish finding himself, and be a top starter. If not, he can certainly thrive as a potentially excellent reliever. Right now, he's pitching well, building confidence, finding himself, and offers up a presence and pure power stuff our bullpen just doesn't have. But he probably needs an inning or two to get his feet wet, shake off nerves, and get in a groove of some sort. Or should we just starting taking odds on the first "stick a fork in him" article?

Love it. Improving the team, but from within. Not normally a big fan of the idea of moving someone out of position to help the club only to move said player back again. But after a nice last season, a rough personal offseason, arough begining to this season, I think this still continues his development and provide even abigger boost to his confidence.

The pen is hurting, in borderline agony from the left side these days. But there are options at AAA and AA to run through and take a look at, relievers and starters. I'd much rather take looks at those guys than a recently drafted pitcher who has yet to throw a single inning of pro ball. Maybe he could handle it, but I just don't see the point of another 40 IP, then bring him up only to send him back down again next season in a different role. Just sounds awkward to me. What I WOULD like to see is a game or two out of the pen, Ft Meyers it looks like, and then start. Starting working on his stuff and his preparation, and start now. Treat his starts like a bullpen game. Go in knowing he will only pitch 3-4 innings. When the IP begin to rise a bit near the end of the season, you will have the choice to shut him down OR move him back to the pen for a few more appearances.

With his stuff and potential and not even 21 yet, he should throw his first ML pitch 23-25. 23 would be awesome, but if he doesn't stick full time until 25, who could complain? Big, strapping, hard throwing LHSP who can dominate and get SO's are just so rare the a little patience/impatience may be well rewarded.

Maybe it's just the new uniforms with the Klondike gold trim. Which I like a lot! (And I will continue to say Klondike gold because it's cool, it's fun, and I can't remember what in the hell the Twins tried to name it) I don't just like the results, I like what Molly and his staff have done overall. Ryan, Molly, everyone in the organization present and past, have always been very good and very coy in regard to the truth/reality of certain situations. I don't mean they lie! Being coy and overly optimistic while dusting over bad stuff isn't exactly lieing. For instance, the inexcuseable way CF was handled this past offseason..."fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you. TRY to fool you a third time, I should be looking for an island somewhere." But Arcia in left, Someguyinatwinsmluniform in CF, and Hunter in RF with his walker...(seeing eye dogs still not allowed on the field due to MLB policy and the fact that they could potentially catch and throw better than the player assigned to)..has given way to... Now, and for a while, we have Molly favorite Rosario playing LF & RF daily. (Isn't it cool as hell to have a HOF player as manager who knows your milb talent as well as anyone recognizing someone as a favorite?) Robinson has performed WAY above what was expected, Hicks came up to play and provide a lift, and now Buxton is up. Now, this isn't all Molitor moves at all! But really, really awful offensive production and defensive play has been ushered aside one way or another to suddenly provide actual good offensive and defensive play....without fanfare. Offense stinks. Nobody is thrown under the bus, (NOT saying the previous staff would), but tweaks are made and they work. SP needs juggling....and it works. If you think about the past 4 seasons, all the changes, attempts both pro and con to change things, talent on the way up, talent not yet arrived, expectations had the Twins fighting and clinging to a life preserver for a chance to NOT finish last in the ALC, and not last in all of baseball. Hey, top 5 draft picks are kinda neat...but sooner or later we wanna talk about winning and not prospects. Molitor and his half staff...half new, half old, more or less...has this team competing and in contention. They juggle the lineup. They juggle the rotation. Their hitting and pitching coach actually make both better. OK reality check. It's also health, and the players themselves. But in regard to the rotation, what I have seen and heard, Allen has done nothing wrong and everything right. Love to blame the bullpen on him, but can't. I'm not sure I can agree with Vargas being sent down when he was showing life. But he performed in Rochester, came up, got a pep talk from his manager, went out and had the best day of his young career, and is hopefully poised to stay. Not as sure about Santana, but we shall see. The team hits a really tough spot in the schedule against top teams and mostly top pitchers. The team plays well, even though they have a losing record. Fans panic. Twins are still above .500. The sky has not fallen. The Twins are actually still a quality team in the thick of things with a chance. Reports have the team happy and energized. The rotation is the best it's been in years. We are winning, competitive, and in competition for an actual playoff spot. Kids are, mostly, getting shots. Nobody is being tossed aside. This team is fun and exciting. I could argue the bullpen, and probably win. I could argue what seems to be an inordinate number of base runners being picked off, and possibly win. Molitor would argue young players, lack of experience, some bad calls, buy the next round, and maybe win. We'll call it even. Which means....keep doing what you are doing because it is working. Fix the bullpen where, if, and when you can. Keep the spirits up for everyone, especially the kids, and keep nurturing them. It seems to be working. Tell Ryan not to overthink everything. I think we're a year ahead of schedule for competitiveness record and playoff wise. Keep this up, make and nurture a few more moves in the second half, and you may have a real challenger next year. Or maybe it's just tequila and the new Klondike gold trimmed uniforms.

Ahhh...Rick Allen.....the greatest 1-armed drummer in the history of Rock-N-Roll.

Yeppers. And if you recall, the Twins deliberately didn't offer a contract immediately...which has now become standard practice...as a favor to Lee as he was participating in the Olympics...and they didn't want to distract him. IF I remember correctly, I think they even told him that, that they would wait to talk numbers until afterward.

Very frustrated and disappointed in Mauer as well. And while I am not playing the "then who else" mantra for the 3 hole, I do have to take issue with the reference to the detriment of the team comment. Its easy to say he has shortened innings by failing/flailing when there is nobody on base...but...you also have to weigh that against the way he has hit and producedbruns when there is someone on base. In other words, 2 rights make up for 1 wrong. More or less.

BUT, if second place ROY finisher Young had turned out to be what everyone hoped and thought he would be, perspective on the trade would be very different.