jimbo92107

Looks like a pretty solid, if unspectacular duo of catchers. Who is the next guy up, in case of injuries?

Ober, Varland and SWR are three reasons I'm hopeful this spring. The fact that none of these three good young pitchers will break camp with the team means a lot. Do the Saints still deliver baseballs to the home ump with a pig? Much more relaxed atmosphere in St. Paul.

If the Twins promote on merit, Brooks Lee could be in the lineup by mid-season. A switch hitter that recognizes pitches right out of the hand. Hits for power as well as average, Relaxed, confident, reliable fielder wherever you put him. Appears to play within himself, nothing reckless about his approach. This kid's floor is a top-ten MLB infielder. His ceiling is a perennial All-Star and HOF. That said, Lee does present a problem...for Jose Miranda. Lee already is an excellent infielder, where Miranda is working his butt off to become adequate. Whaddaya do with Miranda (and Polanco) when Lee and Lewis both hit town? Sadly, the answers may come down to injuries, which the Twins have not lacked in recent years. Baseball is very hard on knees, ankles, elbows, wrists, and fingers. And then there's foul balls off your instep, sliding head-first into a knee, crashing into walls, and pitches fouled right into your face mask. Have I listed even half of the dangers? Anyway, Brooks Lee looks as much as I've ever seen like a sure bet. Fasten your seatbelt, kid.

I see no reason Jax can't go two or three innings now and then. Moran should be able to do that, too. Sands keeps his heater low, and Dobnak is a ground ball machine, when his finger isn't hurt. Both those guys came up as starters, so they could go multiple innings. If the Twins are going to keep experimenting with Pagan, for goodness sakes get it done early. Same with Megill, who with Pagan is in the running for giving up the longest tape measure home runs. Except Pagan walks a couple guys before giving up a hit... whew!

Cautious optimism. If Kenta Maeda's arm is truly healed, then the Twinks have a solid starter in their rotation. Now let's see the rest of them...

I didn't understand the pick then, and I still don't now. Were the Twins trying to draft a slow DH that swings hard? Seems like they could find guys like that in later rounds. Or in beer leagues. Good luck to Sabato, I don't expect to ever see him in the bigs. Surprise me, dude.

Winning is sixty percent pitching, and 80% mental. If you can convince the scorekeeper that you're winning, you have a built-in advantage.

PatPfund said it: This team has not yet demonstrated that it is just one key player from a deep playoff run. In fact, last season's late collapse looked like something from a perennial bottom-dweller, not a borderline playoff threat. For that and another reason, Twins should hang onto all their hitting prospects, especially including Lee. If he performs at an extremely high level, enough to force his way to the bigs, then he's a star on this team for a decade, versus a hired gun for one or two years. Money is the other reason, and it's the main motivator in a Burnes deal. He feels shortchanged by the Brewers, so he'll be looking for a monster payday. That means Yankees and Dodgers kind of loot, in the hundreds of millions of dollars in gold-pressed Latinum. Ferengi joke. Nope, the Twins are stuck with their odd ducks, their TJ survivors, their broken-jaw bar fighters, and the usual assortment of wannabes that can't quite throw strikes on 3 and 2 counts. Here we are hoping that Emilio Pagan will save the bullpen. AGAIN.

Another season depending on a pile of injury if's... Mikelink nailed it. We're watching General Baseball Hospital, where e-vile Doctor Tommyjohn delights in torturing handsome young ballplayers. DrTJ: Surgery was a great success. We'll have you pitching again in about a year... Player: Oh thank you Doctor! DrTJ: ...for the Independent League, muhahahahaha! Player: Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Eating thru a straw is a great way to lose weight, but it won't be easy to maintain muscle mass. Blaze better get a good blender for spaghetti, steak, etc.

I want RoboUmp, pitch clock, limited position pitching, and tie games after 11 innings, except in the playoffs.

We are all crossing our fingers (and, where possible, toes) that Alex Kirilloff finally gets a full season of health. Same for Byron Buxton. One year, o ye gods of baseball and pediatrics! Hell, how's about one year where the Twins don't have the most players on IL in the league? How about one year where the team doesn't need to use over 40 different pitchers to limp thru the season? We want all that...and a shrubbery. Nothing too expensive.

His overhand delivery should help him mask his changeup. However, far more important to his impending career is a good nickname. SWR...I swear, it won't cut it. Simeon Woods Richardson can produce several solid nicks, including of course Sim, Woods, Woodie, Rich, etc. Does he already have a nickname, or must we create a new one?

Let's call Varland's velocity "94 plus." Plus, he hasn't blown out his arm, like most pitchers that try to throw 96. Plus, he gets guys out. Plus, he's an innings eater. Twins have a young, healthy pitcher that can go every fifth day, but doesn't quite hit the upper 90's. He might even pick up a couple ticks naturally, as sometimes happens with experience. I'd find a reason to put this guy in the rotation before mid season.

If AK stays completely healthy, it could go Buxton, AK, Correa, Miranda...

Looks like they're putting together a beast of a slightly better than average team.

If I could give one pitcher a 95mph heater, Smeltzer earned it. Good luck to him.

When Brooks Lee comes up depends entirely on injuries, like Kirilloff's wrist. If he goes down, Miranda goes to 1B and Lee could come up to 3B immediately. Otherwise it's a logjam of good hitters. Lee's bat does not displace Miranda's or a healthy Kirilloff's. If they stay healthy, then you start giving Lee major reps at 2B, and get ready to trade Polo.

Sweet Luis is gone! Nooooooo! What, we got a pretty good pitcher? Yay! Does kinda make me wonder what level of confidence the Twins have in their prospect pitchers...like, zero?

First time I saw Paddack, I thought the Padres had lucked into a major ace, almost a right-handed Clayton Kershaw. Apparently I saw him at his early peak. Now he's just another TJ rebuild project. Can he learn to get guys out without shredding that tendon a third time? Let's hope he follows the instructions of his doctors and coaches. Paddack had dominant stuff for a very short time. Now, he's going to have to learn the art of being a pitcher.

Young lefty RP with an okay heater, plus a great changeup, 2.21 ERA, improving a little every year. What was the question?? Padres had a guy like that, but right-handed. He couldn't make it as a starter, so Trevor Hoffman eventually became a closer. Did pretty good.

Guys that play with reckless abandon get wrecked and abandoned. Carlos Correa is reminded of that by a plate in his ankle. Byron Buxton knows that by an early career spent too much on the injured list. Both men know that their careers, worth many millions of dollars, depend on avoiding some of those massive collisions, by playing with more craft and less crazy. Thus, I am okay with both men declining to challenge any stolen base records. I am also okay with them declining to collide with walls or other players. Their best value is in their gloves, throwing arms, and bats, along with their expert knowledge of how to win ballgames. I am fine with fewer highlights and more wins.

As observed, adding C4 to this lineup provides a lot of options. No more need for Farmer to be just adequate at SS. Now he's either 3B or utility IF. No need to rush Lewis or Martin to the club. Positionally the team looks pretty good. The pitching situation cannot be calculated. It would take too long, and probably just end up being 42. Twins have major pieces of the staff coming off serious elbow and shoulder issues, plus a bunch of rooks and prospects, some of whom also are members of the TJ club. Can this crazy quilt of injuries and inexperience be refashioned into the yarn from which great seasons are woven? The only real way to proceed is to give first crack to the talented but recently repaired. As they break down, you work your way down by seniority until you reach Falvey's cousin's talented kid in sixth grade. Just don't let him throw a curve yet.

If Miranda has been working out over the winter at 3B under Corea's wing, then he might be surprisingly good at third.

When I recall Jim Thome's leisurely home run trot, I can't help think that is easier on the knees than beating out a double or a triple, with a hard slide at the end. Buxton's home run swing actually is a rather lovely thing to watch. There's a kind of sink down, rise up simplicity to it, like helping yourself to a giant scoop of ice cream from a container the size of a bathtub. I bet ice cream is cheaper by the bathtub... If Buck wants to last a whole season, seems to me he'll need to pick and choose when to punch his hyperspace button. Also, Baldy will need to get more innings from Celestino and whoever else can man Center. No reason for Buxton to finish a game where the Twins are ahead or behind by ten runs in the seventh inning. Maybe this is the best reason to bring Martin and Lewis up together, to fill in at SS and C whenever needed.