Questions that need Answers
by caseintheface on May 25, 2008 12:27 PM EDT
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While writing a comment in another post I realized we are going to reach a critical point this year in determining the future of this organization. Last season, as we remained somewhat in the race for a playoff berth, decisions were made on a continually basis to continue trying to win for the immediate future. For many the educated fan it seemed fairly obvious that the 2007 Twins were not a playoff caliber team and even if they were, they weren't much of a contender. I believe that the 2008 Twins are much the same. While that is highly debatable at this early point in the season, that is not the point of this post. The point is that there are many questions that need to be determined within this organization and the best way for those questions to be answered is to give opportunities to younger prospects seeking to become building blocks for the future. With the new ballpark ready in 2010 it would appear that the organization is looking forward to the ever nearing future. This off season was critical in developing the new and upcoming face of the franchise. Now that the season has started, what will it continue to do to move toward what would appear to be a bright future? Without further ado, questions that need to start being addressed throughout the remainder of 2008:
1. Who is the staff ace for 2009 and beyond? Liriano? Baker? Someone else?
2. Who is Alexi Casilla? Can he be a .275+ hitter with 30+ SB's and a solid glove?
3. Does this organization need to make another big move and exchange some pitching depth for another position player? If so for what position? Rockies pretty please!!!???
4. Who are our tradable assets?
4. Do we have a 3rd basemen for the future in our system?
5. Who is Jason Kubel? An everyday DH (best scenario)? Just another lost cause corner outfielder (worst scenario)?
5. How much grit does Bobby Korecky have? 6th inning grit? 7th? 8th?
6. Who is Jesse Crain?
7. Who is the next dominant Twins reliever? Tim Lahey? Other?
8. Who is Boof Bonser? A consistent #3 or #4? A maddening #5? Bullpen? Trade bait? Waiver wire?
9. Can Slowey make it translate?
10. Who is the next loogy? Gomez? Barrett? Mijares? Other?
11. Who's this Revere kid? Revere and Gomez in the same outfield by 2010? Are you mad?
12. Which scrapper is worth keeping around? Punto? Tolbert? Other? Neither?
13. Is Harris a starter? A utility man? A nobody?
14. Can Vavra usher in a new era of plate discipline, pitch selection and maybe added power?
15. Is Gardy the winning man for the next decade of Twins Baseball?
Feel free to comment or even answer the questions or add your own.
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Interesting list of questions
I certainly can’t answer all of them definitively, but I’ll take my shot:
1. Who is the staff ace for 2009 and beyond? Liriano? Baker? Someone else?
If Liriano is put forward as the staff ace, prepare to feel like a Cub fan at the turn of the 21st century, living and dying with every indication that the arm has never quite gotten back to where it was. Liriano’s best future may be the same as Kerry Wood’s—a few years of proving to himself that he’s not durable enough to stay in the rotation before becoming a potent closer.
An interesting conundrum is that there are more staff ace positions available in baseball than there are minor league pitchers who are projected as staff aces. My guess is that the Twins hope that one of their minor leaguers steps up and claims the role the way Brad Radke did while the team was rebuilding in the 90s.
2. Who is Alexi Casilla? Can he be a .275+ hitter with 30+ SB’s and a solid glove?
If a .275+ average with 30+ stolen bases count as an average season for Casilla, and if he learns to take some walks, he can be as valuable as a Willie Randolph, Tony Fernandez, or Craig Biggio. If those are instead his career highs, and he doesn’t learn to draw walks, then we’re looking at Mark Grudzielanek, Garry Templeton, or Ozzie Guillen as his potential career comps.
Given that he’s Dominican (“you don’t walk off the island”), it seems unlikely that he’ll develop the plate discipline to draw a lot of walks. On the other hand, his minor league numbers prior to 2008 were a fairly consistent set of numbers averaging out to about .290 with 30 steals. If he’s given the opportunity (of if he’s lucky enough to seize it), I think he could be pretty good, if far short of a Hall of Famer.
3. Does this organization need to make another big move and exchange some pitching depth for another position player? If so for what position? Rockies pretty please!!!???
The organization has about the same holes this year as it did last year, perhaps more (depending on how you want to classify middle relief). One deal isn’t going to make them a good team.
4. Who are our tradable assets?
Depends what you’re looking for. If you want high-caliber prospects, than the only guy in the organization who might pull one out of another team and whose performance wouldn’t necessarily be difficult to replace is Joe Nathan—an elite closer on a .500 ballteam is like putting gold license plate holders on a Chevy Cavalier. The Twins couldn’t easily replace Mauer or Morneau, so those guys are untouchable.
If instead you’re looking for a borderline star who is pissing off his current team for one reason or another—well, you already know the kind of player that takes to bring him in, because we made that deal to bring Delmon Young on board and we could probably do it once or twice more if we wanted to whittle down our developmental pitching depth. I can’t say I have a lot of confidence in this organization’s ability to take another club’s malcontent and turn him into a productive player, but I’ve been wrong before.
5. Do we have a 3rd basemen for the future in our system?
Depends what you mean by ‘future’.
If you’re talking about a guy who steps in as a rookie and fills the role for years a la Gary Gaetti or Corey Koskie, then no, I don’t think we have that player in our system at third base. I think Matt Macri has a chance to be as good as anybody else we’ve had there in the past few years, though, and keep in mind that Scott Brosius was a World Series MVP at third base.
6. Who is Jason Kubel? An everyday DH (best scenario)? Just another lost cause corner outfielder (worst scenario)?
I honestly think Kubel would have a better career if he was playing for another ballclub that can start from the perspective that his knee injury, while huge, was far enough in the past so we don’t have to bother with it. I think the Twins acquiring both Delmon Young and Craig Monroe was a sign of how little confidence they have in Kubel, and though I don’t see Kubel bringing much in as a trade headliner, I think he’d do a lot better for a club that actually needs a left-fielder with some pop in his bat.
7. How much grit does Bobby Korecky have? 6th inning grit? 7th? 8th?
Impossible to say, and probably irrelevent. Joe Nathan’s ‘grit’ isn’t anywhere near as significant to his perfect save record this season as the number of two- and three- run leads he’s been assigned to protect.
8. Who is Jesse Crain?
A solid major-league middle reliever with little upside who got hurt and hasn’t yet made the adjustment to get back to where he was.
As fans and amateur analysts, I don’t think we look at players and groups of players the same way the players look at themselves—in 2005, we looked at Crain, Rincon, and Guerrier and saw the nucleus of a solid middle relief/setup corps. Problem is, I don’t think any kid gets picked in the big-league draft and hopes that he can one day be a big-league middle reliever. I think that goes a long way toward explaining why you don’t see guys excel in middle relief year after year unless they’re at that stage of their careers where they’re bouncing from team to team: once you’ve been in middle relief for a couple of years, you wonder when you’re going to move up to setup guy, and once you’ve been a decent setup guy, you wonder when you’re going to get the chance to be a closer. Suffer any kind of setback that makes the organization unlikely to promote you in the bullpen, and I think you’re probably better off moving to a new organization where you can prove yourself all over again.
9. Who is the next dominant Twins reliever? Tim Lahey? Other?
Well, I don’t like the word ‘dominant’, but my guess is that, if the Twins are as smart as we hope they are, it’ll be Liriano.
10. Who is Boof Bonser? A consistent #3 or #4? A maddening #5? Bullpen? Trade bait? Waiver wire?
People forget that, at the time of the Pierzynski trade, Bonser was the highlight—the guy who was expected to have the best big league career. Liriano was recovering from nearly a full season off with arm woes, and Nathan was a mediocre starter.
Bonser’s only 26—his best season is likely still ahead of him. It’s way too early to make him waiver bait.
11. Can Slowey make it translate?
Based on his minor league numbers, there’s no reason to think he can’t—it’s not as though he’s hit a wall at any other level. At the same time, it may take him about half a season to start showing it.
12. Who is the next loogy? Gomez? Barrett? Mijares? Other?
Count me among those who think the role of LOOGY (left-handed one out guy) should go away as being detrimental to fun while giving only a tiny situational benefit.
If we have to have a LOOGY, I think the Twins have demonstrated they’re more comfortable with veterans in that role (Mulholland, Reyes), so I’d expect a minor trade or waiver claim to result in the next LOOGY, rather than a promotion from within the organization.
13. Who’s this Revere kid? Revere and Gomez in the same outfield by 2010? Are you mad?
Ben Revere is 5’9”, 150 lbs, and fast as a whippet with little power. Think Denard Span, Jason Pridie, etc.
Draft observers scratched their heads when the Twins picked Revere in the first round—not only did they think the Twins overreached (most observers thought Revere would almost certainly still be available when the Twins had their next pick), but they were astonished that they picked a guy who was so redundant to their existing assets.
With the acquisition of Gomez in the Santana trade, Revere is now entirely superfluous unless Gomez implodes.
14. Which scrapper is worth keeping around? Punto? Tolbert? Other? Neither?
Every manager, even great managers, has had a favorite player that doesn’t always make a lot of sense—Gene Mauch had Rob Wilfong, Whitey Herzog had Jose Oquendo, etc. At this point, I think we should all just accept that Punto is going to be on the roster as long as Gardy is manager and Punto can actually lift a bat and move on.
15. Is Harris a starter? A utility man? A nobody?
Harris is playing for his fifth new organization in five seasons (Cubs, Expos/Nats, Reds, Rays, Twins); if he does become a starter at this point, it’s going to be because somebody pulls a Brian Harper with him and sticks him at second or shortstop regardless of his defensive rep and rides his bat, which has not traditionally been bad. There’s no reason to think that Harris couldn’t consistently put up the kind of numbers he put up last year for the Rays (.286/777) in the right setting.
16. Can Vavra usher in a new era of plate discipline, pitch selection and maybe added power?
If you believe this, then I think two things are true:
1) You don’t really understand the job responsibilities of a big-league hitting coach, and
2) You don’t really understand the Twins as an organization, from Gardy all the way down through the scouting ranks.
Even if the Twins got rid of Vavra and brought in Brian Downing as a hitting coach, I don’t see it having more than a minor impact on the club’s marginal players. It would take a major re-organization similar to what Billy Beane accomplished in Oakland for the Twins to actually focus on plate discipline over ‘aggressiveness’.
To further illustrate point #1 above, Joe Mauer is one of the more patient hitters the Twins have had in years, and neither Vavra nor Gardy has been able to talk him out of it. If they can’t turn Mauer into a hacker despite the entire organization prizing ‘aggressiveness’ at the plate, what makes you think any player is going to learn patience from Vavra or Gardy?
17. Is Gardy the winning man for the next decade of Twins Baseball?
As long as the players don’t start tuning him out, I don’t see why not. The tactical side of the game is vastly overrated, IMO, because almost every big-league manager makes his decisions based on the same ‘book’.
There are no tactical geniuses in big-league baseball, not even Tony LaRussa. What there are, are guys who keep the team on an even keel when things are going well, and keep the club from imploding when things go badly. It’s a skill I’ve underrated myself, and Gardy is as good at it as any manager in the league. If I have to pay out a beer to cmath on June 20, that skill will probably be the biggest reason why.
by dwintheiser on May 25, 2008 2:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Good Questions
1. Who is the staff ace for 2009 and beyond? Liriano? Baker? Someone else?
That’s what 2008 is for, we don’t need to know this yet. We know who the candidates are, so we have to suffer the season and find out if any of them step up. The Twins have been fortunate with a couple of their starters this season, but I don’t think any one of them is an ‘ace’. Ultimately, the Twins are set up with a number of starting pitchers (and prospects) who look like solid starters, but there aren’t any true “aces” in the mix unless Liriano pulls a rabbit out of a hat and starts looking like his ‘06 self sometime next year. I think this is a good question to ask, but we’ll have a much clearer picture of where we’re at in a few months.
2. Who is Alexi Casilla? Can he be a .275+ hitter with 30+ SB’s and a solid glove?
I think David is right on this one-if your example is who he is, including the patience to work some walks (as he’s shown this year), then that’s fantastic. We know who he is right now-talented, exciting, fast, no power…and most frustrating of all, it seems like at times the game gets a bit too fast for him or he has a lapse in his concentration, because he will make silly mistakes at times.
But I’m glad he’s getting the opportunity to play with the Twins right now, because I want the answer to this question, too. I hope he can turn out, because he has a lot of tools that are attractive in a middle infielder.
3. Does this organization need to make another big move and exchange some pitching depth for another position player? If so for what position? Rockies pretty please!!!???
Right now I’d say no. There’s some position player talent grooming at third base, in the outfield, and there are a couple of okay middle-infield prospects as well. I think that as of now the Twins are still evaluating who they have in house, with the Twins and down on the farm. There are always areas to shore up if it turns out the Twins want to sell off a piece of two, but there’s not much need to be aggressive in looking for blue-chip talent at this point.
4. Who are our tradable assets?
In no particular order: Livan Hernandez and maybe Joe Nathan. I don’t see anyone else of enough significant value that the Twins could use if looking to make a move. And only Nathan would likely bring back a four or five-star player, but in reality I’d be surprised if the Twins move him. The organization rewards loyalty, and unless there’s a change in organizational philosophy I expect Nathan to be our closer in 2010.
4. Do we have a 3rd basemen for the future in our system?
I’d like to this so. DJ Romero and Danny Valencia are possibilities, there’s Matt Macri and, even though he gets shifted around, Luke Hughes. We’ll get a chance to see what Macri can do, but most of the guys with the most upside are still two or three years away at least….which might be why they have the upside.
Lamb’s under contract through ‘09, and it was nice to see him have a good day at the plate on Sunday, but even if he is the main guy next year we’ll still have to find someone to play stop-gap. At least for awhile. Between Lamb, Macri, Harris, Tolbert and Buscher, oh yeah and Punto, I think we’re already familiar with who’s most likely to be playing third base over the next couple years. The real answer to the future of third base is still a ways off, unless we go outside the organization for help.
5. Who is Jason Kubel? An everyday DH (best scenario)? Just another lost cause corner outfielder (worst scenario)?
Another good question. I think he can be an okay corner outfielder with a decent bat, but he still needs to be playing everyday…which he isn’t doing. It was great watching his grand slam this afternoon though—he’s good at those.
He had a cold start last year too, so maybe he’ll find a way to get things going. Kubel doesn’t have to be an All-Star to be effective, just .270/.340/.450 would be fantastic. And he’s more than capable of doing that. But as for who he really is, I think we have to take the same approach with him as we have to take with Alexi—wait and see. We’ll have a much better idea once the season is over.
5. How much grit does Bobby Korecky have? 6th inning grit? 7th? 8th?
Grit isn’t the question—just how good he is against major league hitting in general. He’s got a nice slider working. If he continues to succeed, he’ll get the opportunity to pitch more often in higher-leverage situations, and we’ll be able to find out more about this as this summer wears on. Neshek isn’t coming back and Rincon looks like he’s fallen off the wagon unfortunately, so the opportunity is there. Guerrier is still in line, as is Crain, but Korecky will get his shots. The Twins have done well in developing good bullpens, so hopefully this isn’t going to change with him.
6. Who is Jesse Crain?
He’s a good middle relief pitcher, who’s still working his way back from surgery. I think that as time goes by and he stays healthy, he can be much more effective. Maybe not this year, but he could definitely turn into a good set-up guy. Right now he still struggles a little bit, and while he isn’t an elite middle reliever I do think he’s a good one.
7. Who is the next dominant Twins reliever? Tim Lahey? Other?
David’s vote for Liriano is a great one. If not him, the Twins bullpen could use another guy who throws a great fastball with some velocity. As in, 95+ velocity. And I’m not saying that just because blistering fastballs are sexy, but because it’s a gimmick the Twins don’t have much of right now, and options are always nice to have. If you have to face a 97 mph fastball in one AB, then turn around and face a guy with a good curve the next time around, it’s hard to get honed in.
But that’s just my personal wish list. In reality it doesn’t matter what kind of pitches they have, as long as they can get guys out. I don’t see a sure shot on the farm right now, but any one of them could be the next good relief pitcher.
8. Who is Boof Bonser? A consistent #3 or #4? A maddening #5? Bullpen? Trade bait? Waiver wire?
Bonser’s had a crappy month, but that’s baseball. I really don’t think bullpen is an option for him, neither is trade bait or waiver wire. He wasn’t even eligible for arbitration this year—he’s not going anywhere.
He can be a good #3, his best years are still in front of him. Hopefully Saturday night’s outing was a low-point, and he can build from there. Baseball is all about the big picture, and the small snapshots are absolutely maddening…but Boof is alright. If he has another couple months of 4 or 5 inning starts while allowing 4 or 5 runs, then we can worry.
9. Can Slowey make it translate?
I hope so-at times it still looks like he needs a strikeout pitch, but his minor league stats are more than solid and his only truly bad start this year was his first one. This month-22.1 innings, 3.63 ERA, 20 hits, 16 strikeouts and 6 walks. Right now he’s making it translate pretty well.
10. Who is the next loogy? Gomez? Barrett? Mijares? Other?
I wish we didn’t have to answer this question, because there’s no such thing as a pitcher who should only be used to get one out. In a high-leverage situation, if there’s a hitter at the plate who REALLY struggles against southpaws, fine-bring him in. But that’s not how they’re used-they’re used exclusively against left-handed hitters. At least on this team.
In reality, it’s highly inefficient to use one spot in your bullpen for a “lefty specialist”. It’s more practical to have pitchers who can get outs, no matter how, against hitters, regardless of which side of the plate they stand on.
But the Twins will continue to use a spot for LOOGY, which is a role that anyone should be able to succeed in. You’ll come in, face one hitter, and leave. Worst case scenario you’re only charged for one run. But in baseball, getting one out is usually fairly simple, and it’s easy to put up good numbers when you only have to face one or two guys. Reyes gets a lot of ground balls and, in spite of a horrible outing on May 23, has been just fine. This is a guy who didn’t allow a run until May 13. I don’t think we need to worry about who the next one in line is, not quite yet.
11. Who’s this Revere kid? Revere and Gomez in the same outfield by 2010? Are you mad?
He’s still a couple of years from the majors, but at a stretch I could see him making a debut somepoint in 2010. Only 20, at last count he was hitting .405/.445/.559 in Beloit. In 26 games, 111 AB’s: 6 doubles, 4 triples and a homer; 14 stolen bases in 22 attempts; 8 walks and 9 strikeouts.
All of which means I have to completely disagree with David on this one—Revere is not superfluous. Even if Gomez is an All-Star in 2010, if Revere is ready that soon, you a way to fit him into the lineup. Whether this means moving Cuddyer to DH and Gomez to right field (he’s projected to turn into a corner OF at some point…or was that Fernando Martinez? Now I can’t remember off the top of my head…), or moving Cuddyer who’d be 31 and in the last year of his contract.
Revere is still too far away and too low in the system to make any projections with any real certainty, but he’s far too good right now to brush off as superfluous. There’s a lot of talent in there, and plenty of room for growth.
12. Which scrapper is worth keeping around? Punto? Tolbert? Other? Neither?
Every team needs a scrapper, as long as they’re as versatile as advertised. Guys who can play multiple positions on the field, usually well, have a certain level of value. If they can hit—even better. Tolbert’s cheaper but we haven’t seen as much of him, so he doesn’t have a major league track record; with Punto, we know what we’re going to get. In the end, the roster spot that goes to “scrapper” is for guys who are generally interchangeable, so I can’t answer this one with any confidence.
13. Is Harris a starter? A utility man? A nobody?
I see him as a backup, personally. He’s got a decent bat historically, so if he can play passable defense then it isn’t a tragedy to have him in a starting role, but there’s no getting around the fact that he can be a liability in the field. That’s mainly why I see him as a backup. If he can start hitting like he’s capable of, and can limit those bonehead moves at second base or wherever they put him, then he can start. But I don’t think a contending team would have him in the lineup everyday.
14. Can Vavra usher in a new era of plate discipline, pitch selection and maybe added power?
No. Not even if he wanted to, and for a number of reasons.
A) A batting coach cannot change organizational philosophy. While pitch selection can be seen as “taking good at-bats”, plate discipline aka “taking walks and laying off bat pitches” hasn’t been emphasized in my lifetime. This change would need to come from the top.
B) Hitting coaches can’t teach power. Power just is or isn’t, to a certain degree, and Vavra can’t turn, say a 10-homer guy into a 20-homer guy. Or even a 2-4 homer guy into a 10-homer guy. And this is mostly because…
C) Players “are who they are” by the time they get to the major leagues. There aren’t any major changes that are introduced by the time you reach that level. The hitting coach can make you familiar with opposing pitchers, let you know when you’re bailing out or opening your hips, but he can’t teach you to hit. If you’re patient like Mauer, you’ll take walks. If you swing hard like Sheffield, you’ll still swing hard. If you’ve got power, it’s there for you to use.
Patience and discipline can be taught to an extent, but that focus needs to come from on-high, and it needs to be reinforced through the entire system, which it isn’t. Vavra can’t change that on his own, even if he wanted to.
15. Is Gardy the winning man for the next decade of Twins Baseball?
Yes. This team rewards loyalty, and the organization believes that consistency has bred success. Which recently, it has. Every manager is going to make stupid decisions, but unfortunately for them we don’t recognize the good ones because there isn’t a flag waved when it happens. We don’t notice when Gardy makes a good decision because it’s either A) what we want him to do, B) what he normally does or C) something we’re completley unaware of. The Twins understand that baseball is about the large picture, maybe sometimes to a fault, but it’s part of the Twins brand. Gardy will be here for awhile.
Good questions, Case. Great discussion points.
by Jesse on May 25, 2008 8:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Can I play?
I probably won’t answer all of these but I’ll take a shot at putting my 2 cents in on a few of them.
1. Who is the staff ace for 2009 and beyond? Liriano? Baker? Someone else?
I gotta agree with Cmath, the best possibility has to be Liriano. Of course it’s all in your definition of an “Ace”. Really if Brad Radke was our ace then you gotta think a lot of guys have a shot at stepping up and being that kind of ace. The one guy I think could surprise and I’ve been a huge fan of for awhile is Slowey. I know some are down on him for whatever reasons, but I see the way the guy dominated the minors to a tune of a 1.94 ERA 364 K’s, 52 BB’s etc. etc. etc. over 366.2 innings and I have to believe he’s got a shot to be something special. He’s my darkhorse Ace of the future.
2. Who is Alexi Casilla? Can he be a .275+ hitter with 30+ SB’s and a solid glove?
Alexi is giving us all a lot of hope with his performance so far in the majors. I am still shocked he already has 2 homers in like 30 or so at bats in the majors this year after only 7 at all levels of the minors. Casilla has potential to be a good leadoff guy. I believe he already has decent plate discipline. While he may not draw a large number of walks his K/BB ratio is pretty good in the minors (1:1 this year) so at the very least he’s not striking out much either and that’s important for a guy like him with speed who should be able to run out a decent amount of slow rollers or choppers off the plate. I like his potential but am far from certain he’ll ever be consistent at the Major league level.
3. Does this organization need to make another big move and exchange some pitching depth for another position player? If so for what position? Rockies pretty please!!!???
Gimme a month and I’ll give you a better answer. I think that our biggest area of depth is starting pitching (duh) but right now we still need to sort these guys out and see who is for real. If we are still within a game or two come the all star break and some of these young guys have started to prove themselves I would be willing to consider trading away some pitching depth for a guy who could put us over the top and fill a weakness. Who will that be? No idea. For now I say we sit tight.
4. Who are our tradable assets?
Joe Mauer that guy couldn’t hit a homerun if his life depended on it.
just kidding, everyone settle down
5. Do we have a 3rd basemen for the future in our system?
Already answered well, lots of possibilities but nothing is certain. I’m on the Hughes bandwagon even if there’s a good shot he’s just having an amazingly fluky start to the year.
6. Who is Jason Kubel? An everyday DH (best scenario)? Just another lost cause corner outfielder (worst scenario)?
Kubel seems to have moderate defensive ability but right now is best suited as DH because both Young and Cuddy are better defenders. With his injury history he’s better off at DH IMO but is plenty capable if needed to play the outfield. I have to hope he can turn it around after a rough month. In fact he’s played great since his pinch hit Homer a couple weeks ago. I still believe he’ll be fine and have a great career.
5. How much grit does Bobby Korecky have? 6th inning grit? 7th? 8th?
6. Who is Jesse Crain?
7. Who is the next dominant Twins reliever? Tim Lahey? Other?
Got Boof? I really don’t want to say he is only a reliever after a few bad starts but honestly with our glut of starters who seem to have Major League potential it makes sense for someone to go to the pen and right now he looks like the most likely candidate. Plus, I think he could be a stud in the pen when he only has 1 or 2 innings to worry about.
8. Who is Boof Bonser? A consistent #3 or #4? A maddening #5? Bullpen? Trade bait? Waiver wire?
If Baker were coming off the DL tomorrow I would say he should be heading to the bullpen at least temporarily. I know he started out good this year but if he continues to be inconsistent and the other starters continue to do better than him Bonser should goto the pen once Baker gets called up. As far as what he’ll end up being? Who knows.
9. Can Slowey make it translate?
As I said before I’m a big Slowey fan, I think at worst he’ll be a consistent guy who gets the job done.
11. Who’s this Revere kid? Revere and Gomez in the same outfield by 2010? Are you mad?
Don’t know enough about him but if he can continue to shine I agree with Jesse, they’ll find a spot for him somewhere. Also Jessey I’m pretty sure it was FMart that was projected to be a corner outfielder eventually.
Peyton's good but have you ever heard of Jeff George?
by halfchest on May 26, 2008 1:37 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I like this game
but i don’t put in the time to figure out how to do the graphics.
1. Staff ace: We can compete without an ace. We need 4-5 above average pitchers, and for the playoffs, 3 significantly above average pitchers. Our options include Baker, Liriano, Blackburn, Slowey, Perkins, Mulvey, Duensing. I think 5 consistent ones should develop. Hopefully a playoff rotation can be found there, and the first three are the best chance, but who knows.
2. Casilla is our best major league ready middle infielder. Play him. He may be a good #2 or #9 hitter. He won’t become Castillo (consistency), but maybe Bartlett. Put him at SS or 2B, depending on where his DP partner is best.
3-4. We need to consider “adjusting our asset allocation”. We are heavy in middle of the rotation pitching prospects, light-hitting CF prospects, and “veterans”. Right now there may be demand for Hernandez, Slowey, Monroe, Kubel, AAA starters. Continued good play, or improvement, may create demand for Revere, Span, Lamb or Everett. I still like Slowey, and would like to see him in our rotation, unless he could be part of a package to get us a middle of the order 3B/SS/2B.
5. 3B options: Today, Buscher is our best option. He deserves some playing time. He could be good, maybe not. Hopefully Hughes et al could be better one day, but until then let Buscher prove himself. If he’s good, with someone good behind him, trade him.
5,6,7,8,10. Jesse Crain throws hard and has a good track record. Bonser looks like he has trouble putting together 6 good innings, maybe 1-2 is better. Reyes/Rincon should be DFA’d. Korecky and Bass are good long-relief or 6th and 7th inning guys. They look to me like Guerrier from 2 years ago. Nathan/Guerrier are more or less what we thought they’d be. Between Lahey, Humber, Gomez, etc. we should be able to fill out bullpens that look a lot like ours have the last couple of years.
A lot of the rest of the questions have been covered above.
Slowey = good. Trade him if he gets us something good in return.
Kubel = good. Play him more as opposed to less. I just don’t see a better DH option.
Bonser = destined for bullpen. Not because he can’t hack it as a #5 starter, but because he may be good in the pen, and we have other guys who need chances to start.
Harris = best 2b/SS option after Casilla. That means he should be starting everyday.
Tolbert or Punto = necessary. I’d prefer Tolbert. We don’t need both.
Revere = good. If he and Gomez become good, then we can consider ourselves lucky, and trade one, or play both. I’d love to see Casilla #9, Gomez #1, Revere #2, Mauer #3, big bats 4-6. If it means that one of Cuddy/Kubel/Young are gone at that point (two years away, at least), that’s fine.
Span & Pridie = screwed. One should probably be traded. You don’t have to get much in return for the lesser of the two (prob Pridie). Then Span is the fall-back at AAA. Trade him, for little in return, if Revere catches up to him.
Last thing – if there is another CF option, who is better than Gomez defensively, than move Gomez to RF or LF. He does have a strong arm (if not aim). But, if the other potential outfielder can’t cover the same ground, move that guy. There is nothing wrong with having a strong arm in CF, and how much ground you cover is much more important.
by snolls on May 26, 2008 12:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Good Questions
1. It is tough to say right now…Both Baker and Liriano have injuries they must recover from. My shot in the dark for 09 is Blackburn or even Perkins. Blackburn has really stepped up into his role and if he can keep away from the big inning (seems like it is always the 6th) he will be amazing. Perkins has really impressed me. For right now though, it is tough to say, but look for Blackburn or Perkins as your opening day starter in 2009.
2. Casilla is ready to take on the Majors as far as I am concerned. He has changed a bit in his swing pattern which surprisingly gave much more power to the little guy. I think a top two of Gomez and Casilla (or vice-versa) would be a punch that would scare any pitcher. I project Casilla struggling this season but if he can keep with it and never get down, I think come 2009, we wouldn’t recognize him. I project a .290 hitter with 40+ SB…Gardy must make up his mind though if he wants Casilla to play SS or 2B. For a young player like this to have to learn two positions is tough and I admire Casilla for hanging with it. I would like to see Casilla play SS in 2009..he has a cannon, a solid glove when he plays SS, good range, good jumps, and would twist a lot of DP’s with a partner: Harris? Tolbert? Plouffe? Punto (ack)? Look for good things out of this kid…and never get too down on him, he still is Young and will learn.
3. I dont think a trade should be made…unless of course you are only talking about this year. If it was this year, I would trade a Hernandez/Rincon/Bonser package for a Crede or Chavez. But in terms of for the future, we dont need to make a trade. We have good young guys both in the majors and the minors who will step in and fill roles.
4. Monroe, Bass, Rincon, Hernandez, Bonser…maybe Span and AAA starter. I could see Reyes being moved too with Gomez (not CF) taking his role as LH specialist
5. Kubel is the best DH option we had…I would even start him over say a Frank Thomas or Billy Butler or even a Big Papi. Those players are known for their homeruns so pitchers pitch around them and get little groundball outs or some such thing. Whereas with Kubel, pitchers know that not only is he capable of homeruns (Grand Slams it seems :)) but also slashing doubles and driving in about 90 runs a year. Kubel is the best DH we have had since Chili Davis in my opinion. Remember Matt Lecroy? augh…
6. Crain is a hard throwing right-hander capable of giving the Twins, 2 solid innings. After that, he falls apart. He was once thought of as a closer. However injuries and Joe Nathan stopped that. He is coming off of surgery but come next year, he will be back to the 2005 Crain and will be a reliable middle reliever, even setup man.
7. Bonser or Humber in my opinion…Bonser can give the Twins 3 solid innings I think…Humber has to work out a few things but he will be a good reliever (never starter). Maybe Liriano if he can’t fully recover and throw 7 innings.
8. When Baker comes off the DL, we should send him into the bullpen. Come July, if he can’t nail anything, I wouldn’t mind seeing his name being thrown out in trades.
9. Slowey seems to translate pretty well. Many beat-writers compare him to Radke…I have to disagree: I think he will be better than Radke. He has the control, the BB/9, but he also has the K/9 and velocity that Radke never or not since his early days, had.
10. I see Gomez as being a reliable 1+ inning man. I don’t think Gardy will make him a loogy. However, if Reyes is released/traded/DFA, I see Gomez as our lefty specialist who only throws to the left handers and gets pulled after .2 innings having gotten both batters he faced out and now facing a “dangerous” Nick Punto type, he MUST get pulled – snicker…Yes, if Gomez goes .2 innings but gives up 1 BB and 1 hit, and faces a Alex Rodriguez, he should be relieved…however, if he goes .2 innings giving up 1 hit and faces a light hitting John Mcdonald, he should go out and try to get him.
11. Apparently I am mad, since I would love to see that combo. Cuddyer will be 31 in 2010 and could move to DH, if Kubel isnt here. However, the Twins are not going to rush that young kid and I suppose he will not be ready by 2010. But look for him in 2011!!
12. Tough to say…Tolbert would be a lot cheeper than a Punto and frankly I like Tolbert’s bat better :) Tolbert has a solid glove so I say Tolbert. DFA Punto and give “scrapper” to Tolbert.
13. I think Harris will be our starting 2B at least until another one is ready (Plouffe probably). I see a middle infield of Casilla, SS and Harris, 2B in 2010. If Harris can cut down on the errors, even 13 errors would be fine, if he can keep a good strong bat.
14. No. Vavra can not teach power…that is something you would learn when you are young and frankly some are not cut out to hit 10 HR a year e.g. Punto. I can see Plate discipline and selection being able to be taught so long as the players are willing. You can teach all you want but it will only pay off if the players themselves are willing not to swing at that 3-1 pitch a little bit off the plate and down low. Personally, I think Vavra should be fired and either Carew or Molitor brought in as hitting coach.
15. yes. I see Gardy being here for the opening of the new stadium. Coaches that need to go are Vavra and Ullger. Bring in Carew/Molitor for hitting coach and then bring in some 3B coach that can judge more easily whether the throw will be in time to nail him at homeplate…we need an aggressive 3B coach but not like Ullger…look how many times he has injured some of our valuable players sending them when they would be thrown out at the plate by a good 5-10 feet. Example: Morneau in Florida – ouch! and many more!
Good Questions…I enjoyed giving my opinions. GREAT JOB!
by 33MorneauMVP on May 26, 2008 5:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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