Twins playing games that matter: Regular season

[bleedspeed]

Do we have much for position players at AAA/AA that could come in and give us a shot at helping? Seems like we already brought up the guys that have the most potential.

[Monster]

Do we have much for position players at AAA/AA that could come in and give us a shot at helping? Seems like we already brought up the guys that have the most potential.

Adrianza will be done with his rehab assignment and take over for Santana and even though he isn't amazing he will likely be an upgrade both offensively and defensively from what Santana brought which was a warm body. I think most of what is left in the minors for position players that are ready or may be ready are power bats. I'm probably forgetting someone unless you are dying to see John Ryan Murphy up here.

[bleedspeed]

Talking about John Ryan Murphy, it reminded me that I saw Aaron Hicks is bringing his bat to the Yankees. If he was still here what role would he play? He would seem like an upgrade for us.

http://www.startribune.com/ex-twins-update-aaron-hicks-is-hot-trevor-plouffe-off-to-slow-start/421160433/

[Monster]

Talking about John Ryan Murphy, it reminded me that I saw Aaron Hicks is bringing his bat to the Yankees. If he was still here what role would he play? He would seem like an upgrade for us.

http://www.startribune.com/ex-twins-update-aaron-hicks-is-hot-trevor-plouffe-off-to-slow-start/421160433/

I saw a couple weeks ago Hicks was off to a hot start. Good for him I always believed the guy could be at least a decent hitter. He would be an upgrade here for sure but this team had/has so many OFs in the organization with promise they couldn't keep all of them. Another good defensive CF would be handy.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I have faith Mauer will end up being a solid hitter this year. They are already sitting him against lefties when they have other options and if Vargas or Park are around that will happen even more. Monitor has played everyone including Danny who is nearly worthless so if a player plays well I would not be surprised to see Mauer getting fewer ABs. He would be a nice pinch hitter off the bench and would play late as a defensive replacement at 1b. They aren't and can't really just cut the guy and it sucks he kinda takes up a spot to some extent but I think he can still be a worthwhile player for this team.

As for leadoff...um Grossman is probably the closest to a leadoff hitter on the roster and LST doesn't even want him to play. Dozier as TE leadoff guy is far from ideal but I get the sense they don't really feel like anyone else is really up to that role either. I sorta get the angst about the lineup but there isn't much proven sure things although if Sano keeps doing his thing it's going to help work some things out. Dozier has also been looking to steal bases which is an interesting development. It SEEMS like that's something they are looking to do more overall.

I think that's a difficult conclusion for me to arrive at, monster. Joe has only driven in more than 75 runs once since his MVP season in 2009, and hasn't hit over .277 since defenses learned how to play him in 2013. Everyone in the league has a book on him and he's not getting any younger...I can't see him hitting more than .260 with about 7-8 HRs this year, and those are not adequate numbers for a first baseman in this league, much less a cleanup hitter. The Twins are playing great baseball this year, but I can't help thinking how much more potent this lineup would be with even an average hitting 1b man or cleanup hitter. Successful teams just don't put a guy with the 10th best OPS on the team in the cleanup hole. Mollie's lineups continue to baffle me.

Grossman would be my second choice to lead off after Kepler, but his lack of foot speed makes this an unlikely move. He's had a good season though, although he has slipped a little lately.

[Monster]

I have faith Mauer will end up being a solid hitter this year. They are already sitting him against lefties when they have other options and if Vargas or Park are around that will happen even more. Monitor has played everyone including Danny who is nearly worthless so if a player plays well I would not be surprised to see Mauer getting fewer ABs. He would be a nice pinch hitter off the bench and would play late as a defensive replacement at 1b. They aren't and can't really just cut the guy and it sucks he kinda takes up a spot to some extent but I think he can still be a worthwhile player for this team.

As for leadoff...um Grossman is probably the closest to a leadoff hitter on the roster and LST doesn't even want him to play. Dozier as TE leadoff guy is far from ideal but I get the sense they don't really feel like anyone else is really up to that role either. I sorta get the angst about the lineup but there isn't much proven sure things although if Sano keeps doing his thing it's going to help work some things out. Dozier has also been looking to steal bases which is an interesting development. It SEEMS like that's something they are looking to do more overall.

I think that's a difficult conclusion for me to arrive at, monster. Joe has only driven in more than 75 runs once since his MVP season in 2009, and hasn't hit over .277 since defenses learned how to play him in 2013. Everyone in the league has a book on him and he's not getting any younger...I can't see him hitting more than .260 with about 7-8 HRs this year, and those are not adequate numbers for a first baseman in this league, much less a cleanup hitter. The Twins are playing great baseball this year, but I can't help thinking how much more potent this lineup would be with even an average hitting 1b man or cleanup hitter. Successful teams just don't put a guy with the 10th best OPS on the team in the cleanup hole. Mollie's lineups continue to baffle me.

Grossman would be my second choice to lead off after Kepler, but his lack of foot speed makes this an unlikely move. He's had a good season though, although he has slipped a little lately.

I'm not suggesting Mauer will be good enough to be good or great or whatever, but not useless. Part of the reason he hasn't driven in runs is he hasn't had much to drive in. He isn't the same guy he was and the sad thing a few years there really wasn't anyone better. He isn't going anywhere so he is going to get some ABs. Do you want him to play 1b where he is above average as a defensive player or DH where he is even more useless? Again its likely he recovers (its interesting he has only 7 strikeouts so far this season) and starts hitting and walking enough to be on base with walks and all that jazz. If Vargas or someone else that can play the position gets hot and stays effective AND someone else is hitting to take up the DH we will likely see less of Joe on a daily basis. Other guys need to show they can do it and Mauer will see less time.

Also your point still stands but Grossman I don't think lacks speed as much as he just sucks running the bases. It's kinda weird its the same thing in the OF. lol

A couple interesting stats for the Twins.

1. 2nd in the league in Walks with 112 behind only TB
2. Shockingly 28th in strikeouts. That VERY impressive considering they were 5th last year.

It will be interesting to see if they can keep that up or make other progress as an offensive team.

[JasonIsDaMan [enjin:7981157]]

I caught up on the Twins game yesterday. I watched most of the opening day game every pitch and then watched the condensed game of the 2nd game. You would have never guess the Twins were the team that bumbled to over 100 loses last year. It's nice to start off well they haven't won a home opener since they were in the metrodome.

Smalley said there were going to be various lineups and batting orders and we saw 2 different ones in 2 days. Polk county and Escobar now have delivered with their bats which is pretty nifty and Escobar had a couple nice plays. Buxton should be enough to pay attention to by himself and that Sano guy is crushing the ball.

The pitching is doing it's job. I like Belisle a lot. I'll have to go back and watch the 9th just to see Haley pitch. It was interesting to see Gimenez in at 3rd and Sano over to 1b for that inning. I hadn't realized Gimenez had that versatility to him in the field.

Anyway fun to see the Twins play some good baseball and win a couple games. I didn't realize just how many guys the Royals lost from their pitching staff this offseason.

Could you please tell me who "Polk County" is? I googled the only two "Polk Counties" I know, the county with East Grand Forks and The Polk County Between Orlando and Tampa, and still couldn't get it.

[JasonIsDaMan [enjin:7981157]]

We need to trade Santata while he is hot. :

.....or before he gets caught lol.

[JasonIsDaMan [enjin:7981157]]

So if a DH doesn't have power then they are worthless?

To quote Bill James, it's all about OPS. The Twins are 2nd in the AL in DH OPS. But when you look at that, it's more because of Vargas than Grossman. I love Vargas, more than Grossman or Park.

[JasonIsDaMan [enjin:7981157]]

But what the heck is up with Molitor's lineup...Mauer batting 4th? Come on, the guy is only slugging .310, and is clearly washed up. Bat him 8th if they really think he needs to be in the lineup. And why does Mollie continue to think our second best power hitter (Dozier) should be leading off? Put him in the middle of the lineup where he won't hit so many solo homers (2 more last night). Here is the lineup I would use with the current roster (note: I'm still a fan of bringing Park up once he is healthy).

Kepler
Grossman
Sano
Dozier
Rosario
Polanco
Castro
Mauer
Buxton

Good points. Will we ever just sit Mauer? If someone comes in and kits like Vargis would just leave him on the bench?

I think Mollie is far from making that decision. The fact that he continues to bat him 4th shows how delusional he is about where joe is right now. I'm particularly unhappy that our new young brain trust seems to also treat Joe as a sacred cow, and doesn't convince Mollie to move him out of such a significant part of the lineup. My God, I would guess his OPS is at least 200 points lower than any other cleanup hitter in the league...maybe even more. That is not a prescription for offensive success.

Aaron Gleeman knows as much about the Twins as anyone, and he continues to be astounded by the blinders the Twins have on with respect to Joe. Aaron goes so far as to suggest that no team will want Joe on their roster after his contract runs out...Power hitting first basemen are a dime a dozen, and there just isn't room on a roster for a guy that can only DH or play IB with an OPS under .600!

There is only one thing I have seen recently (sports-related) that's as strange as the Twins not sticking a fork in Mauer: Watching Mchale go silent for 5 minutes when his broadcast partner brings up either Gerald Green once being traded for KG, or MEM's top assistant is JB Bickerstaff. It's not just creepy, it's unprofessional. He needs to understand that he's in the booth because he couldn't get it done, not because his car broke down out front and he's killing time until AAA shows up. I realize this is the Twins board, so if you just want to leave it there, I understand.