At the risk of plunging the Twins into an all out overhaul mode, Bill Smith is probably presented with his most difficult offseason as a GM. While I don't particularly have the best faith in him, save some nice waiver claims and the move that BROUGHT Hardy to Minnesota, one must hope that Billy is ready for a big offseason.

I've outlined MY suggestions for building next years roster while trying to keep in mind payroll restrictions, state of the market, etc... Obviously the Twins biggest current weakness are: 1) Top of the rotation starter, 2) Bullpen 3) Infield Depth 4) Bench Depth

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http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/page/rumblings110728/san-diego-padres-narrowing-focus-potential-deals

Per ESPN's Jason Stark

It's been so long since we were actually sellers, it would have honestly been interesting to see what kind of haul we could have gotten for guys like Kubel, Cuddyer and others...

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Every year the in the Twins organization we come to expect certain youngsters making a fairly large impact coming up and filling unexpected holes. For instance, going into the season, I certainly expected to see a great deal of Ben Revere. I did not think it would be in the place of Denard Span. While his overall line leaves much to be desired (.272/.313/.312), Revere is certainly positively influencing the Twins current run, off setting those numbers with great range in the outfield and speed on the basebaths. Do date he's probably the biggest impact youngster. Last year that honor went to Danny Valencia.

Similar to many Twins fans, I take great pleasure in closely following the Twins minor league system. And like many, I wonder who the next line of impact players will be. I'll avoid the obvious ones, like Kyle Gibson (though with the current state of the rotation it might be awhile yet), and simply focus on guys I find intriguing. Also I tried to focus on guys that could possibly fill an area of weekness.

Trevor Plouffe (SS, 2B, 3B?, 1B?)

AAA Triple slash .304/.380/.646, stat of note: 15 HR's, plus another 3 in the majors

Personally I'm still of the opinion he can be a major league shortstop. In my opinion Gardy naturally destroys a lot of young shorstops, only the toughest survive. Everyone remember when Bartlett lost the SS battle to Juan Castro when he lost a pop up in the sun during spring training and then all of a sudden he had no leadership ability either? Anyways, Plouffe has decent range. He certainly has the arm, though erratic at times.  That can however be chalked up to confidence issues caused by Gardy's unrealistic expectations and head games. Regardless, his bat would certainly play much better at a middle infield position. Nishioka is getting paid, so he's not going anywhere. I've been a huge Casilla defender over the years, but at this point I'm willing to conceed his best position might be back up middle infielder. Plouffe at SS and Nishioka at 2B with Casilla available of the bench could possibly work out to be the optimal situation for the near future. Though given the organizations decisions and Gardy's attitude, I have a hard time seeing it play out that way. Lucky us, Plouffe will likely realize his full potential in another organization. Good looking shortstops, with pop in their bat and who play deep and maximize their range with their strong arms does not work for Gardy. Soft hand guys, with weak arms, light bats and who charge the ball and generally get after it are the only guys he understands.

Joe Benson (CF, RF)

AA Triple slash .295/.381/.484

Benson certainly seems to be coming into his own. Hopefully is minor knee issue doesn't detract from his current progress and hopefully he can finish the year in AAA. Benson's only major weakness is that he still strikes out too much, on the flip side he's not allergic to walking. Benson's got a good speed/power combo and could easily be 20/20 guy and 30/30 still as a possible ceiling. With Span in center, and possibly Revere in left (depending on which route the organization goes with Young), Benson would probably profile best in right with the strongest arm of the three. That outfield would certainly cover a lot of Target Field green...

Brian Dozier (SS)

AA Triple slash .305/.367/.488

High-A Triple slash .322/.423/.472, stat of note 27/20 BB/K Ratio

Dozier hasn't been talked a lot about before this season. If he continues at his current pace, he will likely garner a lot more attention. Given the lack of depth in the organization of middle infield prospects, Dozier certainly stands out. I can't say I know much about his defense, but his bat certainly raises eyebrows. Recently promoted from single A, Dozier has not skipped a beat. He profiles as a gap hitter with decent speed, nothing overwhelming. Intriguing is his ability to take more than a few walks. The Twins organization is not well known for developing patience at the plate, so I'm excited for Dozier. Seeing him in the majors next year might be a stretch. But if other options fail, late 2012 or early 2013 are possibilities at this point.

Chris Herrmann (C/LF)

AA Triple slash .235/.359/.342, stat of note 36/34 BB/K Ratio

High-A Triple slash .310/.404/.425, stat of note 15/6 BB/K Ratio

On this list Herrmann, for me, is the most intriguing. Given the pathetic nature of the current backup catcher situation on the major league roster, one has to be screaming for any catcher showing promise in the minors. Herrmann seems like the most likely choice. Now, I'll admit to not knowing the full story, but Herrmann actually plays both catcher and outfield. The prospect of having Joe Mauer's back-up being able to hit, but also play some in the outfield when he's hot is very intriguing. Somebody with more knowledge of his actual catching skills feel free to chime in. While Herrmann seems to be struggling with his AA promotion, it is worth noting that his isolated discipline and isolated power have stayed relatively the same. Hopefully he's just suffering from some bad luck and his batting average will rebound in the coming months. Plate discipline certainly jumps out as Herrmann's best trait. If we're speaking of ideal situations for Mauer's backup, the one detractor here unfortuanetely is the Chris is also a lefty... One last thing of note, in AA he's hitting .163/.293/.214 with nobody on and .315/.430/.483 with runners on. I find that interesting because he tends to lead off a fair amount. Hopefully somebody coaching/managing notices.

Chuck James (LHP)

AAA 2.25 ERA, 40 IP, 29 H, 18 BB, 48 K

Most of us know the story here. I was supremely annoyed when he was sent back to Rochester instead of Dumatrait. His arrival appeared to bring a period of stability for the bullpen. I seem to remember an article in the Trib indicating he had all the guys in the bullpen doing a workout routine before games. Regardless, Gardy seems to be obsessed with lefty relievers who can "spin" the ball. Unlike Dumatrait though, James has Major League and Minor League track record of success. The only reason he is where he his now and not serving as some teams 4th/5th starter is because of injuries. James, while not overpowering, is a very intelligent pitcher. He is equally adept at getting both lefties and righties out. It would be a colossal mistake to allow James to pitch the remainder of the season in AAA and then lose him to another organization after the season.

Jim Hoey (RHP)

AAA 2.29 ERA, 19.2 IP, 10 H, 9 BB, 21 K

No doubt, Hoey has been beyond horrible at the Major League level. He comes into the game, opposing hitters get geared up and are ready to mash Hoey's high 90's heat. And why not? Hoey's given them no reason not to. Hopefully, hopefully, that split finger is coming along in AAA. With two good pitches, especially two with such a large gap in velocity, Hoey can be in a force in the bullpen.

Deolis Guerra (RHP)

AA 2.70 ERA, 20 IP, 17 H, 5 BB, 29 K (As reliever only)

Not what we were hoping when we aquired this guy in the Santana trade, but at this point if we can salvage a late inning reliever from the deal, I guess we have to take it. Guerra has struggled mightily as a starter since leaving single A, so here's to hoping he found his niche. Throughout all the material that has been written about him, there has been positive reports about both a changeup and a curveball. At this point who really knows. He also at one point used to rev his fastball up to 95 mph, hence the inclusion in the blockbuster trade. If he could somehow combine those three pitches, he could definitely succeed in a major league bullpen. Though you would think that would be enough to succeed as a starter though too. Definitely posturing a bit on my own here, but guessing the move to the bullpen has added some increased velocity and possibly some sharpness to those offspeed offerings. Also of note, as a reliever opposing hitters are beating the ball into the turf: 1.73 GO/AO ratio and hitting only .218.

While the Angels still have the only winning road record among the American League contenders, there last road trip wasn't so impressive.  In Cleveland they won only 1 out of 3 games and in Tampa they did the same.  However, had it not been for some late heroics from the streaking Garret Anderson, they were in danger of being swept by the AL East leading Rays.  One of the noticeable differences between the their last 6 games is how many runs they have scored.  At the All-Star break the Angels made a surprise move to trade for Atlanta slugger Mark Texiera, in a move that was supposed to patch up their last remaining weakness.  Still, the offense might be reverting back to it's previous ways.  After scoring an average of 6.6 runs in 24 games since the break, the Angels have scored more than 4 just once in their last six.  The Angels are still by all means probably the best team in the league and will continue to ride their stellar pitching and the always solid defense.  This of course is the same formula the Twins are said to be committed to be following, but certainly less evident this 2008 season.

Keys to the series:

1. Continue to keep their offense at bay.  In my mind their sluggers Mark Teixeira, Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter are going to do what they do.  The best strategy is to keep their smaller fish off the base paths.  Hunter and Guerrero can be beaten and we certainly did a decent job in the opening series, however don't let Teixeira beat you (hopefully we learned from Manny in Boston and Ibanez in Seattle).

2. Attack their pitching early.  The Angels have arguably the best rotation in the majors right now even without Kelvim Escobar.  For some reason or another our current offense does well against right-handers with hard fastballs and good curves (see Justin Verlander, Ben Sheets, Josh Beckett and John Lackey).  They'll set a good precedent by going after Lackey early.  Joe Saunders was physically banged up in his last start and though Jon Garland got us good earlier this year, we've had good success versus him in the past.  As far as Ervin Santana goes, that might be more up to Kevin Slowey than the offense.

3. Big start for Scott Baker.  Scott Baker has had several opportunities to solidify himself as the teams ace going into the stretch run and certainly going into 2009.  However he's fallen short as off late.  A solid 7+ inning start from him would go a long way towards taking the reigns of the rotation.

4. Continue to limit bullpen workload.  The bullpen has been taxed lately and now there a man shorter than they were a day ago.  Albeit not the biggest loss, but there's not a whole lot of help if a starter can't get into the 6th inning.  For Glen Perkins that might mean breaking out the curve the 3rd time through the order to give them another look, for Nick Blackburn that means continuing to mix all the pitches and for Slowey that means attacking the bottom half of the zone. 

5.  Keep pouring on the offense.  Nick Punto had a really bad stretch there but has hit well in his last couple of games.  With Alexi Casilla back that means Punto will go back to the 8-hole and hopefully provide some depth to the lineup.  Punto's better on the field but Brendan Harris has been both good and clutch in August at the dish so we'll see who gets the bulk of the playing time.  Also, the other development to watch will be the Delmon Young.  How hurt is he and did that play into his terrible showing against the A's?  Either way we could use his bat.

6. Who's the hero?  The Twins will certainly need some magic to squeak out some road wins against the best team in the league.  The Twins are a unique team because really, every man counts and every guy in this lineup has taken turns coming up with big hits.  Who's turn is it?

Knowing that he wanted to play often, especially during home games where he's an absolute beast, Joe Mauer decided he wanted to start hitting lefties better.  In fact, he wanted to hit them with such a fiery passion so that he and his good Canadian buddy Justin Morneau could bat after one another in the lineup.  Essentially, he'd be able to trick opposing managers into bringing in their left-handed specialist during late game situations, where he would proceed to make them look foolish.  Anyways, it started up by making a simple call to former rubber arm Twins reliever Terry Mulholland.  Once a week they would meet up and have one on one batting practice.  As the offseason wore on, he notice how much better he was getting.  It was a thing of beauty how every pitch Terry threw to the middle to outer half of the plate, Joe could simply flick them over the left field wall.  Deciding not to hoard his new found glory, Joe decided to create a secret group.  He named it "Yes I'm a lefty... and I prefer hitting lefties damnit."  First he invited his good buddy Justin Morneau.  Then after seeing the sad departure of Denard Span not once but twice down to the minors, the third time Span returned the two Twin Heroes got together and got Span in on their little secret.  Word on the street is that Morneau is sick of being pitched around so frequently.  So recently with some reluctance, the three members voted and decided to share their secret with the quiet fury known as Jason Kubel.  The results speak for themselves recently. However, the members are a bit concerned that Manager Ron Gardenhire may be aware of their secret as he's been more willing to slot Mauer, Morneau and Kubel one after another in the lineup.  Similarly, Jason Kubel as seen more and more at bats against left-handers.  Still no word yet on whether Brian Buscher and Mike Lamb will be allowed membership.

Versus Lefties:

*Mauer: .379/.423/.589

*Morneau: .299/.347/.482

*Span: .306/.393/.571

With the Twins playing during the day yesterday, I thought I'd take an opportunity to really scout out what some of the Twins minor league affiliates were up to last night.  Anyways, it seemed like their were some positives from just about every team.  For reference I know very little about the GCL and the DSL so they are not included in this little survery.

Elizabethton win 7-4

Aussie Bradley Tippett started for the Twins.  He's certainly been the ace of the staff thus far, leading the team in starts and innings.  Last night he put up another solid performance going 7 innings, and allowing 1 run on 7 hits and 0 walks.  He recorded 6 strikeouts.  I'm under the impression he has excellent control and a devastating changeup.  However, his fastball is still in the 84-86mph range.  Obviously that wont cut it at higher levels so here's to hoping he doesn't become the next Yohan Pino and hit a wall at AA.  The other notable for the Twins was Angel Morales, whom we are all becoming more familiar with.  The Puerto Rican native was 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and a walk.

Beloit loss 3-5

Unfortunately the Snappers were winning this game 1 to nothing going into the 9th and let it slip away.  The key performance came from David Bromberg.  The tall, intimidating right-hander (6'5", 240 lbs) went 7 1/3, 5 Hits, 0 Runs, 3 Walks, 11 K's.  Overall it's been a frustrating up and down season for Broomberg.  He has shown periods of dominance indicated by his 149/46 K/BB ratio over 130 1/3 innings.  But last night's performance also dropped his ERA from 5.04 to 4.75.  I've read that his control can be an issue and while 46 walks in 130+ innings is not alarming, I guess he tends to get into a lot of hitters counts, hence why he has a 1.39 WHIP overall. It shows a competitive unwillingness to give in to the hitters that he's been able to issue so few walks, but obviously he'll have to continue to work on getting ahead of them to become a truly dominant force.  Hopefully he'll continue to mimic and learn from the success of fellow right-hander Mike McCardell who has similar stuff and build at 6'5", 220 lbs.  McCardell is really starting to set himself apart with a 2.78 ERA in 116 2/3 innings with 122/21 K/BB ratio.  The one offensive standout worth mentioning in this game was Ben Revere.  The average has taken a bit of a hit lately as he actually slumped for an entire week.  Last night was a good showing as Revere went 2 for 3 with 2 walks and 3 more stolen bases, bringing his season total to 41.  Over the past 3 months, Revere as stolen 26 bases while only getting caught twice.

Fort Myers win 3-1

Last nights gave featured two recently promoted left-handers.  The starter was Joe Testa.  He had a solid Fort Myers debut: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K.  The player that peaked my interests was fellow left-hander Andrei Lobanov who took over in the 6th.  He pitched well giving up 1 hit and 1 walk in 2 innings while striking out 3.  Lobanov hails directly from Moscow, Russia.  He's only 18 years old and obviously the Twins thought strongly enough about this young man to promote him to advanced A ball directly from the GCL Twins.  Certainly a story worth watching.  The other realization I came upon from Labonov's story, is how diversified internationally the Twins have become.  We're all well aware of our strong development in Latin American countries.  But did you know the Twins system now boast players from the following countries?: Argentina, Canada, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, France, Mexico, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, and Venezuela.

New Brittain win 8-3

Jay Rainville started this one and continues to battle for respectability.  Obviously, he's certainly fallen off the prospect map after putting up a solid injury comeback season last year.  Last night, he kept the damage to the minimum giving up 3 runs in 5 1/3, although only 1 was earned.  The bigger story for the Twins at the moment, is that Jose Mijares continues his climb through the system after missing most of the year from injury.  Mijares threw 1 2/3 scoreless with 1 strikeout.  He dominated on stops threw the GCL and Fort Myers.  The control issues might be resurfacing now that he's hit AA, but he's only made 3 appearances thus far so no need for major concern as yet.  With the Twins likely to say good bye to Dennys Reyes after the season, I'm sure they'd like this young man to put himself in a position to take on one of the lefty roles in the pen next year.  The other pitching notable was Robert Delaney.  The intimidating right-handed reliever continues to dominate.  Last night he put together a 2 inning save and allowed no baserunners while striking out 2.  He now has essentially duplicated his numbers from Fort Myers earlier this season.  Overall now he holds a minuscule 1.36 ERA and a fantastic 68/9 K/BB ratio in 59 2/3 innings pitched.  When rosters expand in September and the Twins call on some relievers from Rochester, Delaney should be on the top of the list to move up.  Offensively last night, the Rockcats had a strong showing from their middle infielders.  Brian Dinkelman and Steve Tolleson had big games and continue to provide hope that the Twins will have to rely less and less on middling signings like Adam Everrett.  Dinkelman was 3 for 5 last night and has been on a tear in August hitting .425/.477/.725.  Tolleson upped him one last night going 4 for 4 with a homerun, 2 doubles and a walk.  He is now hitting .319/.401/.489 so far in AA this year.  Finally, David Winfree has tortured Twins fans with potential and disappointment.  While 2008 has been mostly disappointing he's enjoying a .348/.367/.587 August after going 2 for 5 last night.  He also continues to lead the organization in RBI's and is still only 23 years old.

Rochester wins 5-3

Kevin Mulvey was the starter for the Wings and put up another solid yet unspectacular outing: 6 2/3 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.  His ERA is now sitting at 3.73 in 130 1/3 innings pitched.  One thing of note since coming over from the Mets has been his increased homerun rate.  One of the plus pats of his game besides his control was his ability to suppress the long ball.  Giving up 15 homeruns isn't alarming, but it's certainly a little disappointing considering he only gave up 4 in nearly 160 innings last year.  Offensively, Matt Macri was the stud last night going 3 for 3 with 2 HR's, 4 RBI's and walk.  More important for Twins fans who desire and offensive boost come September, was another strong night from Aussie Luke Hughes.  Hughes went 3 for 3 with another double and a walk.  In 53 AAA at bats (.321/.379/.547), he's essentially duplicated his dominance in New Brittain (.319/.385/.551).

Stay tuned for more.  This afternoon the Rochester Red Wings take on Buffalo.  They are hot, winning 9 of the last 10 games.  This stretch marks the first time all season that the rotation and the lineup are doing well at the same time.  Anthony Swarzak takes the mound and continues to make a statement that his 2008 season is not a total loss. In today's lineup continue to watch Hughes, Pridie and Machado as they try to work themselves into the Twins plans.  Also making his first appearance for the Wings is the return of Bobby Kielty.  And what do ya know, there's a lefty on the mound...  (if you aren't aware, the switch-hitting Kielty has some silly splits as a right-handed hitter throughout his career and more obvious the last couple).

I know this site mainly focuses on the Major League club but I know there's also a fair amount of interest in what goes on in the minors.  Since the Rochester Red Wings have been gracious enough to fight on without the likes of Span, Casilla, Tolbert, Perkins, Liriano and Ruiz this season, I thought it would be kind of fun to check into how things are going down there.  After all the Twinkies are off tonight enjoying a little play time in Kasas City.  For anyone who hasn't been paying attention to our minor league system, our AAA club as certainly had to deal with it's fair amount of fluctuation.  The current roster hosts a decent amount of veterans still holding some spaces, maybe waiting for an off chance to get a call up to the big club.  An example of this might be our current right-handed platoon DH, Mr. Randy Ruiz.  Also some other guys hoping Rochester is just another step on their way to the majors.  Guys like Anthony Swarzak, Trevor Plouffe, Luke Hughes and of course a whole host of others.

Tonight's game is kind of special.  Pitching tonight is Philip Humber.  Acquired in the Santana trade before the start of the season, Humber had a solid if unspectacular year at the Mets AAA affiliate in 2007.  He is now 2 full years removed from TJ surgery and still hoping at a shot at the majors.  Unfortunately is stuff hasn't been quite the same from his glory days at Rice University.  He's struggled most of the year posting a 7-7 record with a 5.05 ERA.  However, after spending some time in the bullpen recently, something has clicked.  In the interest of Twins fans, it would be nice if he's reacquainted himself with his once 94 mph fastball.  If so, that in conjunction with his still potent curveball will give him an opportunity to compete for the 5th spot in the rotation in 2009 or even help the Twins in their stretch run should something unspeakable happen to one of the current starters.  Anyways, he's 3-0 in his last 3 starts with 1.74 ERA and a 24/6 K/BB ratio in 20 2/3 innings.

Offensively, featured tonight is the 2nd rehab game for our starting RF Michael Cuddyer who has pretty much been MIA the entire season.  Also in tonight's lineup is the unlikely power source known as Luke Hughes who might be in a position to help the Twins as soon as September.  Finally, Jason Pridie was a possibility for the CF job this season after being acquired with Delmon Young from Tampa Bay.  He's been on a tare lately hitting .330/.343/.670 in July and .500/.577/.545 in 22 August at bats.  Look for him to continue to work on his plate discipline in his quest to become an all-around player. 

Rochester Lineup:

Pridie CF

Machado DH

Cuddyer RF

Jones 1B

Clark LF

Hughes 3B

Macri SS

Plouffe 2B

Christy C

Before writing this post I already had a good idea of the possible candidates to help out the bullpen, but I thought I'd take a closer look at the guys.  The most glaring need at this time is a real dominator in the bullpen.  Obviously that's really hard to find but I wanted to know who might have a shot of being something close to that.  I mean do we really want another guy in the bullpen who's just going to put guys on base and make our lives even more stressful?

Bobby Korrecky RHP

3.38 ERA, .247 BAA, 61/20 K/BB in 61 1/3 innings

Pro's: Older and more experienced in late game situations.  Shown to be durable.

Con's: Trouble versus lefties, seems to prefer a friendlier home crowd.

Ricky Barrett LHP

3.12 ERA, .202 BAA, 69/29 K/BB in 57 2/3 innings

Pro's: Actually has some gas (up to 94 I've heard), much better as of late. Actually much better vs righthanded hitters which could bode well for managers who don't pay attention to stats.

Con's: Bouts of wildness.  Had fair share of injuries.

Mariano Gomez LHP

2.28 ERA, 266 BAA, 35/17 K/BB in 55 1/3 innings

Pro's: Tall guy (6'5") who suppresses the HR.

Con's: Actually been quite hittable and K/BB ratio has dropped as season has progressed.

Philip Humber RHP

5.05 ERA, .283 BAA, 79/44 K/BB in 101 2/3 innings

Pro's: Has most Major League experience (though not much). Has been dominating as of late.

Con's: Pretty much always been a starter and recent success has been in that role.  Has a tendency to be wild when things aren't going his way.

Robert Delaney RHP

1.34 ERA, .203 BAA, 60/7 K/BB in 53 2/3 innings

Pro's: Big and imposing with dominant numbers.

Con's: Only 15 appearances in AA thus far.

So anyways, I suppose you could include some other names on this list (perhaps Graves, Julianel, Ward or Mijares for that matter) but I thought these would be the most likely candidates.  The other options of course is to try to trade, but that's quite difficult now that we're passed the non-waivers trade period.  The other possibility is Boof.  Yes I know. He's probably not ready for the role and he's not exactly doing well in the bullpen as it is.  But you have to admit there's still possibilities if he can continue to throw his fastball at 94-96mph with that hammer curve.  Idk... should be an interesting couple of months.  One's thing for sure in my mind.  First, Guerrier is too hittable and is being asked to handle more than he's capable of.  Loved you as a long-man bud, and you can probably handle some tough work in the 6th and 7th, but you can't get us out of jams like last night.  Secondly, Crain is not quite ready.  Whether he actually isn't or management is not comfortable yet.

Keep in mind that I'm writing this in the middle of the Twins v Cleveland opener so it's conceivable that Livan can turn it around and pitch a couple of scoreless innings to salvage a terrible beginning to the game, but that's doubtful.  For anybody who's watch our Twins throughout this season, they might have noticed a significant difference between our boys at home versus our boys away.  After a poor showing at home last year (and as a whole of course), the 2008 Twins have admirably reclaimed the Metrodome and posted a 34-19.  Conversely, while the 21-27 road mark doesn't necessarily induce heavy vomiting it's not exactly helping much either.  Going by memory, I recall our offense appearing particularly weak on the road.  But that's not necessarily true.  So far this season our offense has scored 5.1 runs per game (rpg) at home and 4.6 rpg on the road.  Also our home OPS is .769 versus .716 on the road.  While there is a slight difference we are by no means the greatest offenders.  Looking at the teams that are likely vying for the 4 playoff spots in the American League, I wanted to see who really showed the most significant Home/Road splits (LA is a lock in my mind at this point).

Here's OPS Home/Road Differential

Detroit .131

Boston .091

Chicago .086

Minnesota .053

New York .048

Tampa Bay .039

As you can see, we're hardly the greatest offender.  What was more telling was the home/road splits for pitching.  And now that I think about it harder, yes I recall our young staff getting pummeled on the road.  Of course you can look at the 4 game sweep at Comerica as the most telling example.  Overall our pitching has a fantastic 3.22 ERA at home versus and a horrendous 5.59 ERA on the road.  To break it down further it would seem that Livan (3.91 Home, 7.48 Road), Blackburn (2.70 Home, 4.83 Road) and Baker (2.38 Home, 4.01 Road) show the biggest differences.  But that's not the half of it.  It would seem the most important cogs in the bullpen have dazzled at home and completely fallen apart on the road: Guerrier (1.80 Home, 5.48 Road), Crain (1.69 Home, 5.30 Road), Reyes (1.17 Home, 4.50 Road).  Not to mention Bass (2.84 Home, 7.45 Road) who may not be considered a cog, but he certainly has logged the innings to be considered one.

What does all this mean?  Well obviously some of our younger starters are going to have to step it up while in hostel territory.  And the so called "veteran leader" of the staff is going to have to lead the way or step aside.  It should be noted that as the trade deadline approaches the organization continues to look towards 3rd base as the most important position to upgrade.  If nothing else, this post should show that the greatest weakness continues to be the void left by Pat Neshek, and that we should be looking to shore up the bullpen for the final stretch run.

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.

Late in September 2006, I was attending a small private college in upstate New York.  Over a weekend, I traveled down to Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania to witness what would be the only rehab start for Francisco Liriano.  It was, I believe, the first round of the playoffs between Scranton and the Twins AAA affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings.  The trip started out with much enthusiasm, but that enthusiasm began to dissipate as I drove though the hills of the New York, Pennsylvania border.  See there were some ugly looking clouds in front of me and I feared my 4 hour adventure would be ruined.  For anyone who's lived in that region of our country, it can often be characterized by entire days of rain that never stop.  Much different from the summer storms in Minnesota that can hit in an instant and leave much the same.  Anyways, I arrived at the ballpark and to my surprise there were some fellow Twins fans traveling throughout the area just to catch a glimpse of the then 12-3 fenom.  As I suspected, the moment I got to the park the rains started.  Luckily however, the delay was only about an hour and play was set to resume.  One thing the rain did accomplish was filter out the common fan, and leave nothing but us hardcore enthusiast.  I was thus able to stand right above the bullpen as Liriano warmed up, snapping some nice closeups of that whiptastic wind-up in the process.  Later, I was basically able to set up camp right above the Red Wings dugout.  As the game started, Liriano took center stage.  Over the first two innings he dismantled the inferior Scranton lineup with ease.  For the final batter of the 2nd inning, Liriano whipped in two 96 mph fastballs, finishing off the beleaguered prey with that devastating 89 mph slider.  In that at bat though everything changed.  Much like his next start against the Oakland A's, Liriano would cruise through the first couple of innings and right as he'd turned up the adrenaline his arm would fall apart.  See in the Scranton game, nobody really knew anything was wrong because he was simply able to stroll off the mound after he had finished the 2nd.  The 3rd was another story.  While the inferior Scranton lineup never registered a hit, it wasn't hard to see that  something about Liriano wasn't the same.  The velocity was down, the command was off  and for some reason he kept on throwing week change-ups.  Well we all know the fate of the rest of that season.

The point of me recounting that little story, is that there were clear indications that Liriano was not ready to return to the majors.  For him, it was a lack of honesty about the condition of his 200 million dollar arm.  For the organization, it was a temptation to win that could not be resisted.  Anyways, his future and the future of this organization has changed as a result of the decisions made in those last couple of months of 2006.  Whether things would've or could've played out differently is debatable.  My position though is that it was sad sight to see an organization that had put such a high priority on not rushing it's youngster, finally cave into temptation and in so doing, jeopardize a career and a franchise.  Anyone still salivate over a 1, 2 punch of the two best lefties in the game and how different 2007 might have ended up?

As we stand now, a similar circumstance presents itself.  With a young season at hand, the supposed power houses of the Central Division are stumbling out at the gates and a team flirting at .500 somehow seems a lot better than it really is.  The weakness of the organization again appears to be it's offensive output and another off season whining about the state of the pitching staff seems all a waste of breath.  With the rain-out of the finally of the White Sox series, the Twins rotation again was set to only need 4 pitchers for the next round.  Yet, a decision has been made to recall The Franchise despite two lackluster rehab starts in the minors.  There are many arguments being presented, but despite them all I'm still asking myself the same questions:  What for?  Why now? Why risk it?

As before with Liriano stats don't tell the story (headlines after the rehab start claimed something to the effect of "Lefty doesn't allow a hit in 3 innings") but when you have a Rochester Manager, Stan I believe, saying that Liriano still has better command of his slider than his fastball, there should be a longer pause in the thought process of this organization.  The argument that scares me the most is that Liriano steps up with the level of competition.  Which just always brings me back to that young kid hunch over holding his shoulder, in front of the mound at the Metrodome, doing more preventable damage to that arm...

Anyways, let the debate begin!

Go Twins!

Just some notes about tonight, should be an interesting ride...

-This city has major nostalgia issues.  Normal media outlets would have been prepping the regular season fans for the new guys they would be seeing taking the field for today's game.  Instead, yesterday, the Star Tribune sport's section featured an article on the front page of Torii Hunter at the Angel's spring training.  Similarly, channel 4 had Rosen's Sports Sunday on last night.  80% of the show was devoted to Torii Hunter and none other than Corey Koskie.  ---Thanks guys for giving us all something to look back at, not forward to.

-Final Score Angels 8 Twins 2

-Livan's line 4 1/3 innings, 8 hits, 6 runs, 5 earned, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts

Angels Stars

- Most everybody will probably focus on Vlad Guerrero their perennial hitting star.  While he does have 13 hits in 29 at bats (.448 Average) against Livan something tells me he wont be the star tonight. Neither will Torii, my guess is he'll go 1-4 with single.
-my guesses for good games either Casey Kotchman, their first basemen, or Gary Matthews Jr at the dish.  Both of them have something to prove and likely match-up well versus Livan.
-Obviously Weaver (their starter) will have a good night tonight.

Twin Stars

- Mauer will have a good game going 2-4 with and RBI and a run (nothing too special though).
- Lamb look for him to get the other RBI, probably going 2-3 with a walk

Things to watch

- Count how many pitches both Gomez and Young see in all their at bats (especially their first)
- Watch Kubel, if he's to tapping his front foot during the pitchers delivery, that means he's in sink.  He needs to have a good series right off the bat otherwise Monroe will start getting unwarranted starts at DH.
- The Twins have always had a slow developing offense.  A lot of these guys can take awhile to make adjustments.  Tonight they'll struggle against Weaver but then will probably beat up on the relievers (an ugly trend that developed last year and continued during spring training). 

Other Predictions

-Rincon will get banged up in his inning of work
-Punto will make an appearance
-If Figgins get on base he will run all over Livan and there'll be nothing Mauer can do about it.

Going into the preseason I thought that the battle for the last spot on the last bench spot would be between Buscher, Jones, Casilla or possibly the loser of the CF competition.  Is it though?

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Just thought I'd get the discussion going to focus our energy away from the woulda/shoulda/coulda talk.  Mind you this discussion should focus on what's going to be brought out on opening day, not what's going to happen throughout the year (because we all know there'll be lots of changes).

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So far I think Bill Smith is doing a good job keeping his mouth shut and his trigger finger in check.

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If the Twins do find a suitor for Santana, wouldn't it be smart to then look to move Nathan?

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Today's article really doesn't help the organization.

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What the heck happened last night?

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No I'm not serious, but with Punto hitting 9th we might as well have the pitchers hit, because that's Punto's equivalent.

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Guess I wanted everyone's general opinion on what they'd like to see happen before the end of the season, since I don't believe there's any postseason magic brewing.

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Any interest here?

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This next stretch will give Terry Ryan a good chance to decide if it's time to buy or sell.

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Is Jones here to stay?

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This is getting old...

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With the Twins generally having a hard time scoring wouldn't it make sense to keep Jones longer than just 8 at bats?  Especially going into interleague play?

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Espn is reporting that Swarzak is being suspended for 50 games for violating sustance abuse policies.

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ESPN reports that the Twins have reached a preliminary agreement with Rondell White.

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I thought it would be good to see where were at.

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With Freddy Garcia now going to the Phillies for Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzales, does this mean The Twins could join the running for a possible trade for Jon Lieber.

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These guys just don't know what's coming I think...

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