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Twins Minor League Report (5/18): Great Pitching, Not Much Hitting
The Minnesota Twins may not have received a very good start from Scott Diamond, but all four Twins...
25 Minnesota Twins Drafts in 25 Days: 1993
Welcome back! In my never-ending quest to recap old drafts (feature ends June 4), I present to...
Twins Minor League Report (5/17): Streaks and Walkoffs
One Minnesota Twins' affiliate won 4-3, in 12 innings. Another lost 4-3 on an unearned run in the...
Twins Daily Blog Links
Like the Minnesota Twins, Twins Daily has a farm team on the blog page. Here's what you've been...
Twins Weekly Links-N-Thinks
It wasn't the best week for the Minnesota Twins as the team lost the rubber game of their three...
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Recent News
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Chris Parmelee (pictured) delivered a clutch hit against Philadelphia ace pitcher Roy Halladay on Wednesday, resulting in a 6-4 Minnesota Twins win. Parmelee played the whole game at first base, recording a walk and two hits, which included a three-run home run versus Halladay that gave the Twins a 5-4 lead. A number of impressive bullpen performances preserved the win.
Twins starting pitcher Jason Marquis gave up four runs in the first four innings on eight hits. But for the second of his first three starts, his infield defense ...
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In spring training last year, New York Mets manager Terry Collins said that second base has become “an enormous offensive position. Some of the guys that have been playing there have been putting up huge numbers at second. It’s become an offensive position, so to me that’s a big piece of the puzzle.”
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Likely Starter: Danny Valencia
2011 Stats: .246/.294/.383, 15 HR, 72 RBI, 63 R, 2/8 SB
Potential Backups: Luke Hughes, Sean Burroughs, Steve Pearce, Tsuyoshi Nishioka
With a lineup that will feature as many as five players who pose virtually no threat to hit the ball over the fence, the Twins are going to be heavily reliant on a few bats in the middle of the lineup to produce some pop in 2012. Among the incumbents, the only player who even reached double digits in home runs last year is Danny Valencia. He led the Twins in RBI and ranked second in homers, though that spoke more to the general struggles of the offense than to his success.
Make no mistake: the Twins need Valencia's power. But in order to win over a coaching staff that seemingly soured on him somewhat last year, he'll need to master some of the more basic elements of his game.
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Today, we'll round out the infield and vote for the preseason AL Central third baseman. Let's get the discussion going on "Which AL Central Third Baseman will be the best in 2012?" Vote now and comment your rankings.
The Candidates (2011 stats)
Minnesota Twins - Danny Valencia - .246/.294/.383 (.677) with 28-2B, 2-3B, 15-HR, 72 RBI
Chicago White Sox - Brent Morel - .245/.287/.366 (.653) with 18-2B, 1-3B, 10-HR, 41 RBI
Cleveland Indians - Jack Hannahan - .250/.331/.388 (.719) with 16-2B, 2-3B, 8-HR, 40 RBI
Lonnie Chisenhall MLB - .255/.284/.415 (.699) with 13-2B, 0-3B, 7-HR, 22 RBI
Lonnie Chisenhall MILB - .267/.353/.431 (.784) with 15-2B, 3-3B, 7-HR, 45 RBI
Detroit Tigers - Miguel Cabrera - .344/.448/.586 (1.033) with 48-2B, 0-3B, 30-HR, 105 RBI
Kansas City Royals - Mike Moustakus MLB- .263/.309/.367 (.675) with 18-2B, 1-3B, 5-HR, 30 RBI
Mike Moustakus MILB- .287/.347/.498 (.845) with 15-2B, 1-3B, 10-HR, 44 RBI ...by
According to Hardball Talk, two Twins Minor Leaguers have been suspended 50 games for testing postive to a banned substance. Both players played in the Dominican Summer League in 2011.
Yeison Florentino went 1-2 with 3 saves and a 3.16 ERA in 2011. In 25.2 innings, he gave up 22 hits, walked 15 and struck out 18. As an 18 year old in 2010, he was 1-2 with a 2.70 ERA. In 16.2 innings, he gave up nine hits, walked 22 and struck out 11.
Ezequiel Zarzuela will be 21 years old throughout the 2012 season. In 2011, he went 3-2 with 3 saves and a 2.60 ERA. In 19 games and 34.2 innings, he gave up 30 hits, walked 19 and struck out 40. In 2010, he was 7-3 with a 2.68 ERA. In 53.2 innings, he gave up 50 hits, walked 20 and struck out 36. ...
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So far we have voted on the Preseason AL Central Catcher, First Baseman and Second Baseman choices. Now let's get the discussion going on "Which AL Central Shortstop will be the best in 2012?" Vote now and comment your rankings.
The Candidates (2011 stats)
Minnesota Twins - Jamey Carroll - .290/.359/.347 (.706) with 14-2B, 6-3B, 0-HR, 17 RBI
Chicago White Sox - Alexei Ramirez - .269/.328/.399 (.727) with 31-2B, 2-3B, 15-HR, 70 RBI
Cleveland Indians - Asdrubal Cabrera - .273/.332/.460 (.792) with 32-2B, 3-3B, 25-HR, 92 RBI
Detroit Tigers - Jhonny Peralta - .299/.345/.478 (.824) with 25-2B, 3-3B, 21-HR, 86 RBI ...
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Manager Ron Gardenhire wanted him up in the big leagues last summer. Teammates praise his leadership as well as his ability to do anything and everything needed with the bat. Pitchers love when he is playing shortstop behind them. How can Brian Dozier make the Twins Opening Day Roster?
There are many things going against Dozier this spring, at least in terms of making the opening day roster. The biggest thing he has going for him is his play and his personality.
Let’s start with the reasons that he will not make the Opening Day Roster:
- Jamey Carroll and Alexi Casilla – The Twins brought in Jamey Carroll and paid him enough that he will get a starting job. He’s earned that by playing in 140+ games the last two years, being solid defensively and getting on base at a very good clip. The Twins are committed to giving Alexi Casilla another shot as a starter at second base. Even if the leash on Casilla isn’t real long, he will get a shot to start.
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Today's links include the analytical, the hopeful and the whimsical:
Analytical
Thryloss updates his bullpen and bench dashboards with yesterday's results. A couple of previously maligned bullpen arms put their best foot forward, as did Brian Dozier.
Hopeful
Twins Fan From Afar is getting hopeful watching Danny Valencia this spring. He reviews Valencia's time in the majors, both good and bad.
Whimsical
MrHorrorPants relates the Twins upcoming season to a Civil War campaign. It's every bit as righteous and scary as one might expect.
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Aaron & the Twins Geek discuss Perkins' new contract, the Twins history of long-term contracts and then review Vegas' over-under predictions for the Twins and the rest of the AL. Here are:
- the podcasts
- the rss feed if you want to subscribe and
- the podcast on iTunes (where you can also subscribe and leave reviews).
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Likely Starter: Alexi Casilla
2011 Stats: .260/.322/.368, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 52 R, 15/19 SB
Potential Backups: Luke Hughes, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Brian Dinkelman, Brian Dozier
We've been down this road before.
Alexi Casilla was the Opening Day starter at second base in 2009, and at shortstop last year. In neither instance did he hang on for long. With a career .185/.232/.219 hitting line in April, the Dominican infielder has made a habit of stumbling out of the gates, and there's no question that it's hurt him. When a player shows no signs of life early in the season, fans are quick to pass judgment and coaches begin looking at other options.
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The voting for preseason AL Central catcher and first basemen will continue for another day, but let's get the discussion going on "Which AL Central Second Baseman will be the best in 2012?" Vote now and comment your rankings.
THE CANDIDATES (2011 stats)
Minnesota Twins - Alexi Casilla - .260/.322/.368 (.691) with 21-2B, 3-3B, 2-HR, 21 RBI
Chicago White Sox - Gordon Beckham - .230/.296/.337 (.633) with 23-2B, 0-3B, 10-HR, 44 RBI
Cleveland Indians - Jason Kipnis MLB - .272/.333/.507 (.841) with 9-2B, 1-3B, 7-HR, 19 RBI (MILB - .280/.362/.484 (.846) with 16-2B, 9-3B, 12-HR, 55 RBI)
Detroit Tigers - Brandon Inge - .197/.265/.283 (.548) with 10-2B, 2-3B, 3-HR, 23 RBI
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If you're looking for some more to nibble on from this weekend, try these
- Thryloss has brought executive style management techniques to spring training. (I'll let you decide if that's a good or bad thing.) He's updating two executive style dashboard reports, one for the bullpen and the other for the bench battles. Check them out and see how your favorite dark horse is running.
- Speaking of dark horses, minor league catcher Chris Herrmann might be one to make it to the show sometime this year. Over the last year or so he's overcome his clear obsession with redundant consonants to position himself as a lineup fixture as early as 2013. You can find out a bit more about him in a profile by ShawnTheRoad.
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Let’s be clear: ultimately, it’s about the wins. I get into at least a half dozen debates per month where I feel the need to remind people that all this fun baseball stuff we analyze – coaching tactics, offseason pickups, roster changes, revenue tendencies, trades, minor league development – are not goals in and of themselves. They are the means to an end. And that end is wins.
That said, even if the Twins somehow win the AL Central, 2012 will answer several questions that will seriously impact the rest of the decade for Twins fans. Besides the wins, let’s take a look at five other developments worth paying attention to if you’re a Twins fan.
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After struggling during the first week of spring training with the bat, the Twins go three home runs on Sunday afternoon to top the New York Yankees 5-1. Joe Benson got the Twins on the board with a long, solo home run in the 5th inning. In the bottom of the 7th, Danny Valencia gave the Twins a 2-1 lead with his second home run in as many days. In the bottom of the 8th, Michael Hollimon hit a long, 3-run homer into the wind that gave the Twins the 5-1 lead. (Hollimon is now 4-6 on the spring with the Twins.)
The Twins continued to pitch well also. Nick Blackburn started and threw three scoreless innings. He gave up three hits and was helped by his defense. With speedy Brett Gardner on first base, Curtis Granderson hit a long drive to center field. When Joe Benson (who was in the lineup because Denard Span had a stiff neck) realized he couldn't make the catch, he played the ball perfectly off the wall. He uncoiled a strong throw toward the infield. Alexi Casilla grabbed the throw and relayed a perfect strike to Joe Mauer to get Gardner easily at the plate. ...
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