James

I got to the stadium around 2:30. There was definitely a long line to get into the stadium where I was. From what I could tell, this was mainly because of the sweatshirts. They were giving these away right after the security setup, which slowed everyone up getting through security. The security staff at the gate I went into was being incredibly thorough searching bags as well. It took me about 20 minutes to get through the line. They were out of sweatshirts at the gate I went to, so I got a voucher for one and was able to pick one up a little later in the game. They probably did as well as they probably could have given the situation. As far as the game goes, I thought May pitched pretty well. He definitely got burned by the defense. It's tough to say what to do exactly, but I can say for sure, some moves are going to have to be made sooner rather than later.

Who needs that when you can just score on a wild pitch?

I know. We're smarter than that here. Especially in the game threads. Jimmer- I should have known that you were joking as well. I must have had a "Strib posting moment" where my brains didn't work so good.

That was supposed to be a joke. I will never complain about a Twins player taking a walk.

Mauer takes the old base on balls. All Twins fans are shocked.

And Milone with a strikeout!

What the heck, I'll take Brett Lee.

Completely agree. Give them a little bit of time to get back in the game. Remember, yesterday was the first complete AA game the Buxton has played, and he struck out 3 times. Don't worry, they'll both be up soon enough. They are probably going to have to play more than one AA this season before they are ready though.

To quote Major League: "Who gives a s#@t? Its gone."

I believe in Zaino! Let's hope that phrase catches on.

I think I got what is going around down there too. I had some flu like symptoms when I got home about a week ago. Something is definitely in the air down there.

I just got back from Florida on Monday, and this makes me want to go back.

The academy is pretty great. It's a great idea. It's obviously going to be a big deal for those guys that are playing for the Miracle, GC Twins, and those guys that start in extended spring training. The TJ question is not something anyone can really answer. I don't think anyone has nailed down one root cause as to why players end up needed it, and it's really tough to build a exercise/stretching program to prevent it. If you could figure out how to do that and prevent even 50% of the current amount of TJ surgeries, I'm sure there are several MLB teams that would probably give you a very lucrative position in the organization to help them develop that training program.

*slow clap*

I can't agree more. I think Hicks will start on the big league team. Hicks' OBP does look good, but it just seems like that can't be sustainable unless we starts learning how to hit. He has been slow to get going at every level he has been at, and I can see why the adjustment period would be the slowest at the MLB level. Maybe between working with Carew and getting some mentorship from Hunter, he will finally put things together. My guess is he hits a little better to start the season, but the OBP comes down. He ends up hitting about .230 or so in April and part of May before he gets the ax. I hope I'm wrong and he figures it out and breaks out this year, but odds are kind of against it.

That's what I remember. What I was wondering was if other teams that drafted in similarly high positions (and got more eventual WAR from their draftees) were also spending close to the signing bonus recommendations, or did some regularly spend more allowing them to sign players that other teams had passed on due to "signability" issues. I don't think that would completely explain why it looks like the Twins did not do as well in the draft. I'm just wondering if that was contributing factor. I mean, even high priced prospects end up being busts, right?

This was a very good article. It was an interesting analysis, and made some very good points. I'd be curious to see how this changes post 2012 bonus pool limits. I have a feeling that some teams probably didn't select a player because they wanted more money than their recommended slot bonus, which may have left the door open for a higher revenue team to spend more at a later draft position. Hence, some team may have gotten a 10 5 or 10 talent much later in the draft because they could outspend smaller market teams on bonuses. I haven't looked at all the signing bonus data, so I don't know if this is the case or not though. I think I remember the Twins not liking to go over the slot recommendations during that time though. Jut another possible factor to mention.

I had a great time last year, and this year's lineup of guests sounds great. Unfortunately, I have to go a friend's wedding. I know, it's very selfish of him to get married the same day as the winter meltdown, but not everyone is as selfless as I am. Is there a plan to have another summer meetup like the one before the Home Run Derby?

I think you're pretty much on point with what I am expecting. I don't think I could have said it better myself. I don't think that they'll bring up Buxton just for ticket sales though. I think they know ticket sales are going to be bad unless they win games. I don't think they would mess with Buxton's development for a improved ticket sales for a few games. I think Sano will be drawing a big enough crowd for the Twins not to worry about this anyway.

I can't agree more with this. Game threads are really fun, but sometimes a little random. It's a great way to goof around, talk a little baseball and crack some jokes. It's definitely a great way to keep in touch with the TD community and make a long season more interesting. All these dates make sense to me. I'm pretty sure my productivity was at a low point on those days as I was posting, reading, refreshing TD all day. This was cool to see. It'll be interesting to see if some of the busiest dates are similar in 2015.

I don't think anyone should be too concerned over this move. Stauffer seems to have some decent numbers. I haven't seen him pitch, so I can't tell anyone how good or bad he is. If the young guys are really ready to the big league club, they'll show it in spring training or shortly after. I guarantee that someone in the bullpen will be struggling at that time and there will be a spot open. Personally, I don't think Stauffer will make it past the first half of the season. I see one of two things happening: 1. Stauffer has a really good first half and proves he's a back end reliever. He is traded to a contending team and replaced with a AAA guy that is dominant. 2. Stauffer has an ok or bad season, and he is released or outrighted and claimed and replaced with a AAA guy that is dominant. Basically, $2.2M isn't a whole lot of money for this team. So, they're not going to be too upset if he doesn't work out and they have to eat half of that. It's also not a lot of money for any other team either, so he would end up being a fairly attractive trade candidate if he's pitching really well. I just don't see a lot of downside to this signing. Sure, not the highest upside either, but you never know. No one thought much of Burton or Fien when they were first signed to minor league deals and Fien worked out and Burton actually had a good first season with the Twins. It's just hard for me to get to hung up on a one year deal, especially when some of the names people are throwing out there as alternatives have hardly pitched above AA, and the others have little to no experience in the big leagues.

I would imagine that they are probably working on a Dozier extension right now actually. It would reward him by giving him more than league minimum this year and buy out his arb years. I could also see both Dozier and the Twins waiting until next year to work out an extension when he finally hits arbitration. Plouffe is harder to figure out. It certainly seems like he might be without a position here shortly. Tough to say what exactly will happen with him. As far as Hughes goes, I like this deal a lot. I'm really excited to watch him be in the rotation for the next few years. I know that we can't expect the same results as last year, but I think he's going to be a solid pitcher for the next few years. Definitely think he'll be worth the amount of money he's going to be paid over that time.

This is a pretty interesting article. The data shows players getting called up from 2005 - 2009, so it is already 5 years old. There is something to be said about the prospects of that era as well. For comparison, from 2002 to 2009, the Twins never drafted earlier than 20th overall. In comparison, Tampa, which was much more aggressive in promoting, drafted in the top 5 in all but two of those years (and one year was 2005 where they drafted 8th). That also includes 3 #1 overall picks. So, someone could make the claim that the better talent they were receiving in the draft allowed them to promote players more aggressively. I'd really like to see this data from 2010 - 2014. I would expect that the Twins have moved further down the list and will be for a few more years.

I admit, I was reluctant to go after Santana, but it's articles like this that are making me already come around on him, and he hasn't even pitched a game for the Twins yet. Great work, as usual, Parker.

I'm quite bullish about both of those guys. I think May made some strides at the end of last season. Don't get me wrong, the first few were ugly. Ugly is an understatement. But the last few were much better and showed promise. I was hoping to see some Kyle Gibson-esque strides from him this year (as in a similar improvement from year one to year two). I'm also hoping to see Meyer. I don't know where they'll fit them both in, but I'm sure that will work itself out somehow. As for Santana, I can say I wasn't looking forward to it, but it's already growing on me.