Interesting Decisions…

Also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Alright, it started with the Twins announcing that Greg Gagne would become the 22^nd member of the Twins Hall of Fame. I’m a big Gagne fan, but Hall of Famer?? How is Chuck Knoblauch not in the Twins Hall of Fame?

Then we heard that Jacque Jones was signed by the Twins to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league spring training. He hasn’t played in the big leagues since early in the 2008 season when the Tigers released him. But not a big deal, I always liked Jacque. Great guy. Underrated player for several years with the Twins. Couldn’t hit lefties, but he was fun to watch. I have no problem with signing him and giving him a shot. No problem at all.

But then it was announced (by a tweet from the great Kelly Thesier) that the Mets had claimed Jason Pridie. So, currently, the outfield depth on the Twins 40 man roster is Delmon Young, Denard Span, Michael Cuddyer. And although he is listed as a DH, Jason Kubel is there too.

I am a little surprised that Pridie was put on waivers. I don’t think he’s very good, but he provided the Twins with what they needed out of 5^th outfielder. Great speed. Great defense. And some pop in his bat when he actually did make contact. But I’m far from heart-broken that he is now gone.

But now who is the Twins 5^th outfielder? Could Jones really be an option for that role? Could Willy Taveras be an option as a 5^th outfielder at least minimum? Could Rene Tosoni be an option?

Does this mean they couldn’t find a taker for Glen Perkins, Alexi Casilla or Matt Tolbert?

I expect more is brewing in the Twins front office. But what? Your guess is as good as mine!

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me or leave them in the Comments section.

Snow Day

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

The Twin Cities Metro Area got a lot of snow in the last 24 hours or so. Monday morning, I opened up my garage door to see a lot of snow coming down, well, down and sideways. I turned around, shut the garage door and worked from home. I honestly was more productive working from home. It was a good day. Watched Up for the 47^th time. Watched a lot of Dora and Sponge Bob. Helped push a couple of people’s cars the snow and ice. That’s just fun times!

But aside from the productivity at work, it was a good mail day too. I made the long trek to the mail box and found that I had received my copy of John Sickels’ The Baseball Prospect Book 2010. That was very exciting. As you know, Mr. Sickels was a guest on the SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast about two weeks ago. As he mentioned at that point, the book contains 41 Twins prospects. All 41 prospects are given a grade of A through C, you get to see stats from the last two years and then an informational and entertaining profile. A quick sample of the comedic writing of Sickels is the start to his profile of Danny Valencia. “After Joe Crede got hurt, the Twins made due with Matt Tolbert, Brendan Harris, Nick Punto, the ghost of Mike Pagliurulo, and the animated zombie corpse of Gary Gaetti at third base for the stretch run.”

Sickels is a tremendous writer. He wrote 1,170 player profiles. He has lists of his top 50 hitters and top 50 pitchers, and reviews the 2009 seasons of his choices from a year ago. He has Sleeper Alerts and Breakout Candidates. It’s great to read his thoughts on Twins prospects, but it’s amazing how frequently it becomes helpful to be able to read profiles on other teams’ prospects. After you buy my book (!), be sure to purchase your copy of John Sickels’ The Baseball Prospect Book 2010.

Soon after, my door bell rang. It was UPS or something, and it was a delivery for me. If you recall in December I mentioned a third writing project that I was working on. The delivery was a few copies of the FoxSports.com/Scout.com Fantasy magazine. I wrote the Twins minor league content. To see it in print is really pretty cool. So, if you see a copy on the newsstand… I see it’d only $4.95, so that’s not too bad.

Finally, last night in my e-mail inbox, I received the electronic version of the Diamond Futures 2010 Prospect eGuide. I saw the Twins prospect rankings for their site, and enjoyed it. On the site, I saw that they had a 300 page e-book available, so I thought I would get that. The authors have been doing this for a long time. They look at some different categories. They grade players too. And in the top, they rank their Top 500 prospects in baseball. In case you were wondering, Juan Portes came in at Prospect #446.

Finally, on last night’s Travis Talks Minnesota Sports podcast, he was joined by Twins prospect Tyler Robertson.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me or leave them in the Comments section.

Monday Morning Update

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Finally, that football game is over and people can start focusing on the proper sport now, baseball. Here are some quick thoughts and other links to enter the week with. 

• Baseball fans who are proponents of a salary cap will certainly look at this Super Bowl. Indianapolis and New Orleans were the NFL’s best teams throughout the 2009 season. These two cities do not even have Major League baseball teams. Instead, each hosts a Triple-A team. The Indianapolis Indians are the AAA affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The New Orleans Zephyrs are the AAA affiliate of the New York Mets.
• Dudes in underwear apparently was the theme of the year in the Super Bowl ads.
• I am curious what people think of the new Twins advertisement. I enjoy the animation, and I think it was a solid commercial. Honestly, in my mind, it wasn’t one of their best commercials. What do you think?
• Another discussion question for today is what the wins will do with their 40 man roster to accommodate the addition of Orlando Hudson. Could they trade Alexi Casilla, Glen Perkins or Matt Tolbert? Who could be released? LaVelle wonders if it could be Luke Hughes. I can’t imagine that. Some have mentioned Drew Butera or even Trevor Plouffe. I can’t see either of those things happening. So, what would you do?
• Speaking of things that should create discussion, I definitely encourage you to check out Travis’s AL Central Preview. He goes position-by-position and ranks players from each team. He and I had an interesting discussion on some of his choices, but I enjoy reading blogs like that because it creates discussion, and that’s always a good thing.
• Over the weekend, Josh Johnson posted his choice for the Twins Prospect #18.
•  Be sure to check out Roger’s Weekly Minor League Update from this weekend.
• Briefly, be sure to check back later. Over the weekend, Travis, Josh, Roger and I conducted a 22 round Twins minor league draft. I had done this a couple of years ago, and it was fun to look back and see how we drafted. Anyway, this time around, there were four team, and 22 picks, so 88 Twins prospects taken. Someday, I think it would be fun to work with the Twins during their minor league camp and put together a three game round-robin tournament of these teams. Except, we’ll look back at in 2-3 years, so it was just a fun exercise. Anyway, expect to see the results of our draft, probably starting later this week or early next week.
• Aaron Gleeman posted his choices for Twins prospects 21-25 today.
• Nick Nelson discusses and Offseason for the Ages.

Any other thoughts or notes as we enter another week? We are another week closer to Spring Training! Feel free to e-mail me or leave them in the Comments section.

Super Bowl Predictions

also available (and updated) at www.SethSpeaks.net -

I had almost forgotten that the Super Bowl was this weekend, until I read that the Twins will unleash their newest commercial (an animated one!) during the Super Bowl.

As I did last year, I am going to post my Super Bowl Prediction, but I have also asked many people for their predictions. I’m going to post them tonight, but I will continue to update this as I receive more responses, right up to the kickoff. I asked people to give their prediction on the score of the game (between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints), and if they wanted to add a small paragraph of other thoughts, they certainly could. We’ll start with my prediction and then I will add the picks as I received them. Of course, in the Comments, be sure to post your predictions too.

Seth Stohs (SethSpeaks.net – Minnesota Twins 2010 Prospect Handbook)

Colts 37, Saints 27 – Peyton Manning is just so good. So is Drew Brees, but it’s like comparing Vlad Guerrero to Hank Aaron or Willie Mays. Both teams have a ton of weapons, and both QBs use them all. I don’t know enough about either team to feel strongly, but this is definitely the matchup of the two best teams in 2009! It should be fun to watch!

Howard Sinker (StarTribune.com – Section 219)

Colts 35, Vikings 3 — Magic runs out for the Vikings as Peyton Manning chews up the defense. The Williams Wall comes crumbling down and Jared Allen ties himself into knots instead of doing his calf-roping routine. Favre throws 5 INTs and after the game people start wondering if Jay Cutler is available.

Anthony Slama (Twins Relief Pitcher Prospect)

The saints will win it 38-35. Brees will have 4 TD’s, Manning 3 and Colston will have over 120 rec. yards.

Marty Andrade (MartyAndrade.com)

53-42 Saints – Peyton Manning throws three interceptions in a football disaster. The game will feature 8 turnovers and 200 yards in penalties. Every field goal attempt by either team will be missed.

Darren “Doogie” Wolfson (KSTP-5 Sports)

Saints 31-27. While not feeling real strong about that selection, New Orleans plus-five I do (only if I were in Vegas of course).

Jonathan Mayo (mlb.com, B3: Big, Bald and Beautiful, jonathanmayo.net)

Such a hard decision to make, go with the heart or the head. I probably should go with the head, but where’s the fun in that? I’ll take the Saints, 42-35.

Roger Dehring (Twinkie Town minor league contributor)

I predict a win by New Orleans, in a lower scoring game than everyone expects.  Final score, NO-24, Indy-20.Look for both defenses to show up and Drew Brees to have a very good game.  Predict that Peyton’s bubble will burst with 2 picks.

Topper Anton (Curve for a Strike)

31 – 21 Saints over Colts. This game is going to feel like a letdown, not just for Vikings fans, but for everyone, after watching the thriller two weeks ago in New Orleans. The NFL should just retroactively go back and anoint that game the Superbowl because nothing can top it (except if the Vikings had won). And although every media outlet is doing their best to make it seem like the Saints are actually underdogs here, I think anyone who’s watched a game this season knows that either the Saints or the Vikings would have torn apart any AFC team they encountered this Sunday… at least the commercials could be entertaining?

Kirsten Brown (K-Bro’s Baseball Blog)

Before the conference championship games, I was convinced that whoever won the NFC would be the superior team. The Saints had a spectacular season and Brees was a ton of fun to watch. But then I saw how vulnerable they really were when they beat the Vikings (they only won due to luck and Vikings collapse). Plus, I can’t forget Payton Manning and how he artfully dissects opponents. I predict a good game. Colts 24 – Saints 21

Andrew Kneeland (Twins Target)

The Colts managed to out-rush the New York Jets — a team whose offense revolves around their running game — two weeks ago. If Joseph Addai and the Colts’ offensive line get their running game going Sunday night, their offense will be firing on all cylinders. With the best passing game in the league and a potentially dangerous running game, there will be little hope of stopping the Colts.  Prediction: Colts 35, Saints 28

Shooter Hunt (Twins RHP Prospect from Tulane – which, of course, is in New Orleans)

Saints 37 Colts 34. The “Who Dat” Nation rejoices for the first time ever. Drew Brees completes a 2-minute drive at the end of the game for the go ahead touchdown to Colston. Reggie Bush returns a punt for a touchdown. Peyton throws for 400 yards, but with one costly pick in the second quarter.

Dan Osterbrock (Twins LHP Prospect)

“Colts lead the entire game. Peyton Manning named MVP after throwing 3 TD passes. Drew Brees chokes and throws 2 interceptions… Colts win 24-10.”

Whit Robbins (Twins 1B Prospect)

Colts – 35 Saints -24. Even though I am a product of the ACC, I believe the best football is played in the southeast. I’ll take the SEC QB over the Big 10 QB any day. Peyton outplays Brees in a shootout.

Nathan Schlepp (Schlepping Minnesota Sports)

Colts 38 – Saints 27.  The Super Bowl should give way to a shootout due to the top flight passing games of each offense.  I like the Colts because they have a better defense, even without Dwight Freeney, than the Saints.  My one worry for the Colts would be the running game of the Saints.  The Colts do not have a Rush D like the Minnesota Vikings, and if the Colts struggle against Pierre Thomas, the threat of the rush could open up more opportunities for Drew Brees.  Overall the Colts are simply a better team and I am still sour from the Vikings loss.

Al Bethke (Al’s Ramblings)

I’m taking Indy easily, 34-13, Peyton as the MVP, and by far the most entertaining aspect of the game will be the Go Daddy ads.

Brian Pietrzak (BP’s Baseball Blog)

I think the game will be 30-21 for Indy. The big wild card is whether or not Dwight Freeney will play for the Colts. If he doesn’t play, that changes the entire complexion of the game for New Orleans who can take more chances offensively. However, Indy’s firepower will be too much.

Josh Johnson (Josh’s Thoughts)

I will be cheering for the Saints, which means that Colts will end up winning. The Colts have a bend-but-won-break defense (which I believe is much better than what the Saints have) and the best player in football. Period. The Saints got to Brett Favre in the NFC Championship, but they never recorded a sack. The Colts have the best offensive line in football and Manning always seems to find an open receiver. I don’t see the Saints hitting Manning like they hit Favre, and if they do, the Colts will gain yardage off of penalties. I am cheering for the Saints because I’m a big fan of both Drew Brees and Reggie Bush and because my roommate is a huge Colts fan and I love trash talking.

Tyler Robertson (Twins LHP Prospect)

I got the colts winning 38-31. Would love to see Peyton win another ring. Not a big fan of the whole ‘who dat’ thing. or Reggie Bush. Go Colts.

La Velle E. Neal (Twins beat writer for Star-Tribune, Twins Insider)

Saints 31, Colts 28. The Saints pass rush was no joke against the Vikings. While Payton Manning won’t need to get peeled off the turf like Brett Favre, he’ll get hit enough for it to matter. Plus, I’m still mad at Jim Caldwell for pulling his starters against the Jets!

Make your prediction here, and check back to see if more people make their predictions too. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me or leave them in the Comments section.

Twins Sign Orlando Hudson

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

I had just finished my Star Tribune Your Voices blog tonight (Twins Get A for Their Offseason). I posted it to Twitter, and when I went to Twitter to refresh, I saw that the Star Tribune’s Joe Christensen had tweeted that the deal was official. The Twins signed the 32 year old second baseman (and #2 hitter!) to a one year, $5 million deal.

Yes, I have spent all offseason saying that my preference would have been Felipe Lopez. However, I have also consistently said that Lopez and Hudson were the two players that could actually have an impact on the 2010 team. I think this is a nice signing. Is Hudson a great player? No. But he will be a great complement to this team both offensively and defensively.

I encourage people to read the Your Voices blog for a lot more thoughts on the Twins offseason. I would also welcome any of you who would like to apologize to Bill Smith and the entire Twins front office to do so in the Comments section.

Confidence Rankings

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

I was chatting with Travis Aune of Travis Twins Talk this morning, and he asked me for what percent confidence I have in a couple of things happening, so I gave my opinion… Today, I’m going to post my Confidence rankings and ask you to weigh in with your thoughts. Joe Christensen blogged that the Twins are in a good position on a couple of players whose names have been in Twins’ minds and ears all offseason.

How confident are you that the Twins will sign Orlando Hudson?

Seth Confidence – 52%

Why? Well, it sounds like he is deciding between the Twins and the Nationals. So, he has to decide if he wants the extra million dollars and signs with the Nationals, or if he wants to play for a winning team. If he chooses the money, then that says a lot and maybe the Twins should be happy he didn’t sign with them. That’s why I have them slightly over 50% You also have to factor in that there still could be a third or fourth team quietly in the discussion as well.

Ramifications – Nick Punto would move to 3B and split time with Brendan Harris. The team would have to trade Alexi Casilla for whatever they could get for him.

How confident are you that the Twins will sign Jarrod Washburn?

Seth Confidence – 82%

Why? Like I wrote the other day, his name hasn’t gone away for a couple of years. I have been told that at least one high ranking Twins official really likes Washburn and thinks he could provide a lot of value to the Twins. And, now he has no other options. The Twins should offer a minor league deal and if he makes the team, he can make a base of a million with incentives for another million.

Ramifications – If it is a minor league deal, the team would not have to make an immediate move. However, if he makes the opening day roster, he would have to be added to the 40 man roster, so at that time, the Twins would have to release someone or trade something like Glen Perkins for whatever they can get for him.  

How confident are you that the Twins will extend Joe Mauer before Opening Day?

Seth Confidence – 99.85973%

Why? It’s going to happen. Mauer doesn’t want the distraction. The Twins don’t want the distraction. Mark Rosen will likely be proven right. I am just leaving a small percentage that it might not happen just because.

Ramifications – Twins fans everyone will rejoice!

Imagine if the Twins land Orlando Hudson and sign Joe Mauer. They already improved with the acquisitions of JJ Hardy, Jim Thome and Clay Condrey. Would it be an absolutely perfect offseason for the Twins? And would people FINALLY start giving Bill Smith some credit?

How confident are you? If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me or leave them in the Comments section.

Twins Sign 2B!

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Just a short posting today. Maybe the title got you excited, thinking maybe that the Twins had ponied up and signed Orlando Hudson or Felipe Lopez, or even Adam Kennedy, but no. According to Baseball America, the Twins have signed minor league second baseman Matt Gaski.

You may be thinking, “Oh boy! Matt Gaski. Who is he?”

So was I, so I looked him up. Gaski spent two years at the University of Florida where he got just 14 plate appearances as a freshman, and hit just .227 as a sophomore. He transferred to UNC-Greensboro for his junior season and finally got a chance to play consistently. He hit .291/.403/.363 with 12 doubles, one home run and one triple. He struck out 28 times and walked 42 times. He went back for his senior season and hit .327/.422/.440 with 11 doubles, a triple and five home runs. He walked 38 times with just 33 strikeouts. He was the Padres’ 34^th round pick in 2008 and hit .216/.364/.261 with a double and a homer in rookie league (playing 3B). The Padres must have let him go as he spent time in 2009 in the Mets organization. He hit .291/.371/.316 with a triple in 79 at bats for Low-A Brooklyn. He moved up to Savannah for the final ten games and hit .389/.421/.444 in 36 at bats. Obviously the Mets let him go, and now he is property of the Minnesota Twins.

Based on his college and minimal professional at bats, a few things are noteworthy. First, in those two years at Florida, he got very few at bats per game played, which tells me that his defense must be terrific, maybe a late inning replacement. Second, he has great bat control as he walks more than he strikes out, and doesn’t strike out very much. Third, he has pretty much no pop in his bat at all.

At first, I asked myself “Who?” After looking at his career, my question now is “Why?”

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me or leave them in the Comments section.

Nine Innings with Seth – Part 2

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

The first four innings were played earlier, here are the final five innings of Nine Innings with Seth:

Fifth Inning – We’re #5! We’re #5! We’re #5!

So, one of the big topics over the weekend was what the Twins would do with their fifth starter spot. The first four spots in the rotation are expected to be filled by Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Kevin Slowey and Carl Pavano. Why is it even a topic? After the conclusion of the 2009 season, in my mind at least, the answer was easy. Brian Duensing’s performance over the season’s final six to eight weeks earned him the right to have the first shot at the fifth starter job. However, Francisco Liriano’s performance in the Dominican Winter League playoffs certainly has people excited. It’s not just the completely dominant numbers. It’s not even the reports of the 95 mph fastball and a 88 mph slider. The excitement seems to be from a focused, and in shape, Francisco Liriano. The excitement comes from the sharpness of that slider. The excitement comes from Liriano’s lack of walks and control inside the strike zone.

Obviously the big question will be answered through spring training. Brian Duensing deserves the shot. I think we all agree with that. Nothing in his AAA numbers indicates that he will be able to sustain that kind of success, but I think most of us think that he can be a serviceable fifth starter. With Liriano, there is no question about the stuff anymore. The concerns with him are all between the ears. How confident will he be? How much does he even want it? How frustrating have the last two years been for him, not able to do what he did in 2006 before surgery? If he can bring that aspect of the game together, Francisco Liriano can still be an All-Star caliber starting pitcher. Will he ever get back to his 2006 level of dominance? Unlikely, but you never know. But again, with his stuff, he can still be an ace. In my mind, Liriano is the wild card, the X-factor in how far the Twins are able to go in 2010.

But don’t forget that the Twins have other options, even before reaching to someone like Jarrod Washburn. Glen Perkins is still around. Most can’t imagine a scenario in which he comes back, but he is a lefty who throws fairly hard and has three big league pitches, so he shouldn’t be 1.) forgotten, or 2.) given away. Anthony Swarzak came up in the middle of the season and pitched well for a few weeks. Jeff Manship came up to help an over-worked bullpen in August and got the opportunity to make a few starts. He picked up his first big league win in that final weekend series against the Royals. Both of them will likely begin at Rochester, but both could be ready if called upon to either start or pitch some long relief for the Twins.   

Sixth Inning – Podcast Updates

SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast – (Tonight at 9:00 central time) – I’m really excited for tonight’s show. Last week’s show was really fun, with five guests, including four players. This week, we go back to one hour, but the guests continue. Last Tuesday night, Denard Span and Jeff Manship were involved in the Twins Caravan and signing autographs through our show, but both of them were kind enough to re-schedule for this week. Also, there is a chance that Max Kepler will be joining the show tonight as well, which is pretty exciting. If he is unable to join, we’ll open up the phone lines and take your questions or comments for the remainder of the show. Remember the chat room will be open throughout the entire show, and I will ask Denard, Jeff or Max any questions that you would like while we have time. I’m excited. It should be a fun show, so hopefully you will be at to listen live. And if you can’t, please remember that you can listen to the podcast later, or you can download it to iTunes.

Quick reminder, you can still pre-order the Minnesota Twins 2010 Prospect Handbook for $12.95 through the conclusion of the podcast. At that point, it will be available for $13.95.

Also, be sure to listen in to last night’s Travis Talks Minnesota Sports podcast. It was a good show. His first guest was Larry from SouthSideSox.com, a White Sox blog, and they had a good discussion on the White Sox in 2010. Then Nick Nelson of Nick’s Twins Blog joined the podcast to talk about all of the Twins topics of the day.

Of course, on Wednesday night at 9, you’ll want to tune in to Fanatic Jack’s Twins Talk podcast!

Seventh Inning – Twins Fest Updates

Here are some other Twins blogs related to Twins Fest experiences that you may enjoy:

• Those Girls handed out their 2010 Twins Fest Awards. You’ll want to check out all the winners!
• Andrew from Off the Mark posted his Twins Fest Experience.
• Be sure to check out the Twins Geek account of Day 2 of Twins Fest. Particularly note his awkward conversation with Topper Anton of Curve for a Strike. It makes me laugh. Here are his Day 1 thoughts.
• K-Bro, of K-Bro’s Baseball Blog, posted her Twins Fest experiences.
• A Voice from Twins Territory – Twins Fest Part 1. Twins Fest Part 2.
• For the Love of the Game posted her stories from Twins Fest.   
• Katie from KC’s Baseball Blog chimes in with her Twins Fest Edition.

If there are any that I am missing, please let me know.

Eighth Inning – Twins Links

Here are some other Twins blog links:

• Aaron Gleeman started his Top 40 Twins prospect list yesterday with his selections for 36-40, only to see his choice for #37 (Tolleson) get claimed by another team. Today, he’s got his choices for 31-35. (They’ll all still be with the organization tomorrow!)
• Here are Granny Baseball’s thoughts on Joe Crede.
• Howard Sinker posted on several topics from Nick Punto, to Joe Mauer and more at Section 219.
• Alright Hamilton has an Essay Contest: Orlando Hudson or Joe Mauer. Check it out and participate.
• February 12^th is officially Nick Punto Day. This is the brain child of Andrew Kneeland of Twins Target who rightfully says that Punto is a very polarizing character among Twins fans. So on February 12^th, participating bloggers will all write their thoughts on the Twins infielder.
• And I’ll just say, be sure to check out the Twins MVB. He’s got a ton of stuff going on at his site that you’ll want to check out. He was also the feature of Curve for a Strike’s Twins Blogger: Get to Know ‘Em last week.
• Josh Johnson is up to Twins Prospect #21 in his countdown of the Top 50 Twins Prospects.
• The Twinkie Town Top 50 Prospect rankings are complete. Check it out and weigh in on who you think is missing, who is ranked too high or too low.
• And while you’re there, be sure to check out Roger’s Weekly Twins Minor League Update.
• Nick Nelson talks about the False Alarm, but Very Real Hope regarding the events from yesterday.
• Twinkie Talk mentions the Biggest News You Heard yesterday.
• Undomed takes a retrospective look at 2006.
• Check out the Over The Baggy Twins Notes.      

Ninth Inning – TwinsCentric Gathering

I can’t really think of a ninth inning topic right now, so I thought I would just mention that the TwinsCentric group – John Bonnes (Twins Geek), Nick Nelson (Nick’s Twins Blog) and Parker Hageman (Over The Baggy) and I – are going to be hosting some get-togethers for bloggers and Twins fans. The first will likely be on a Saturday afternoon in March, sometime when the Twins have a spring training game that we can all watch together while talking about our favorite team. So, be sure to pre-order your copy of the TwinsCentric/Maple Street Press Twins 2010 Annual, and meet us all there. Obviously as we obtain more specific details, they will be posted at our sites.

 Alright, nine innings with Seth is complete. Please check out the SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast tonight at 9, and have a great day! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me or leave them in the Comments section.

Nine Innings with Seth – Part 1

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

The Minnesota Twins 2010 Prospect Handbook is complete. The TwinsCentric/Maple Street Press Twins 2010 Annual is complete. The FoxSports/Scout.com magazine is complete. Twins Fest is complete. A break may be necessary, but instead, I thought it would be good to go another nine innings with Seth (Please stop back around noon for Park 2):

First Inning – What’s Going on with Joe?

OK, so my January 29^th prediction proved untrue. I’m OK with that. But on Monday afternoon, WCCO’s Mark Rosen got Twins fans attention by saying that he has a source that says that Twins and Mauer have reached a preliminary agreement on a ten year contract. Since then, Twins fans got incredibly excited, national writers like Buster Olney and Jon Heyman tried to discredit the rumor, Twins fans got frustrated, an d the story kind of went away.

So what do we make of all this? I don’t know.

Oh, you were hoping for something a little more than that? Alright, I’ll venture a guess. And please, remember this, it is just my guess.

• Mark Rosen has a lot of local sources. He has been apologist and supporter for years. My guess is that he has a source close to Joe Mauer that has been able to give him something. Let’s not forget that the ten year story is not news. Rosen himself mentioned that on a newscast about a month ago. The story is the “agreed in principal” portion. Mark Rosen is pretty credible locally, so I tend to believe he would not comment on this if he didn’t have something pretty solid.
• Buster Olney is a Yankees guy for ESPN. He’s trying to make a bigger story. SI.com’s Jon Heyman has proven quite a bit of credibility in the last couple of years, but he has been anything but a Twins person going all the way back to some ridiculous articles a couple of years again, including about Johan Santana. These guys have some contacts, no question.
• The Twins front office won’t say anything until something if finalized.
• Robert Shapiro, Mauer’s agent, is not going to leak anything.
• Joe Mauer isn’t exactly going to talk.
• But again, I believe that Mark Rosen has something credible. He isn’t going to put himself and his reputation on the line. Remember, he was the first to note that the Vikings had signed Brett Favre long before it actually happened. He never said Mauer had signed. He didn’t say that the deal was finalized. Think about the small print and the minute details necessary in a contract that includes incentives, potential opt-outs, no-trade clauses, deferred money and more. That would take a week or four of lawyer time.
• I believe that the deal will be announced before spring training.
• In the end, I don’t care if it’s eight years or ten years. If ten years, I am going to stand behind my $185 million projection. If it’s eight years, I would project $160 million.
• The Twins need to resign Mauer. They need to for reasons beyond the baseball field. However, Twins fans need to understand that this contract (whatever is may become) is incredibly risky. A ten year contract extension would make him 37 years old when it expires. Can Mauer remain this good throughout the next ten years? $18-20 million worth of good for ten more years?

 Second Inning – Will O-Dawg Crush the Nats?

Over the weekend at MLB Trade Rumors, it was reported that Orlando Hudson was still asking for $9 million a year, but the Washington Nationals were only offering him $3 million. Yesterday, it came out that the Rockies were now out of the running for both Hudson and Felipe Lopez. The Twins were mentioned as a team that would have some interest. Well, if the cost for one year of Orlando Hudson comes anywhere near $3 million, they should be. The Twins were apparently willing to offer Jarrod Washburn $5 million. Imagine signing Jim Thome and Orlando Hudson (two players actually able to contribute positively) for about the same price.

In general, the market is so slow, the contracts are so low. It is a good time to have a little extra money available. Twins fans should be happy they haven’t signed anyone yet because over the next two weeks, they should be active and maybe even sign a player at a huge discount. Hudson makes too much sense, and if that means going a million over budget, that works of me.

Third Inning – Twins Lose Tolleson to Take on Thome

I was thinking that maybe a trade was in the works. When the Twins announced that they had agreed to terms with Jim Thome last week, immediately I started wondering who would be removed from the 40 man roster. Would Glen Perkins be dealt? How about Alexi Casilla? Well, once no one was traded, there was really no choice in who the Twins would remove from the 40 man roster. The question became, would Steve Tolleson be claimed by another team? Well, on Monday, the utility player was claimed by the Oakland A’s. Here is what I wrote about Tolleson in the Minnesota Twins 2010 Prospect Handbook:

Steven Tolleson – IF – (11/1/83)

Acquired: 5^th round pick in 2005 from U. of South Carolina

2009 Team(s): New Britain Rockcats, Rochester Red Wings

2009 Stats: .266/.340/.380, 27-2B, 3-3B, 8 HR, 40 RBI

Following the 2008 season, the Twins added Steve Tolleson to their 40-man roster. Despite lingering injuries in the second half of the season, including a bad finger, Tolleson had hit .300/.382/.466 with 28 doubles and nine home runs for New Britain, in just 93 games. He went to Twins spring training in 2009, but he was slowed by injury and didn’t see much time. Because of that, he began 2009 back in New Britain where he got off to a horrible start. In April, he hit just .172/.238/.207 with just two doubles. But by May, he heated up and hit .310/.408/.506 with 11 extra base hits. He was promoted to Rochester and in June he hit .310, but his monthly batting averages after that month were .271/.250/.133, and his OPS fell from .806, to .753, to .647, to .345.

Tolleson stands close to the plate and has a very short, quick swing. That does make it difficult to know how to pitch him. He has a very good eye at the plate. He is a good contact hitter who generally hits the ball on the ground or line drives. Defensively, he is solid, but certainly unspectacular. He has limited range and arm, but he makes almost all of the routine plays. He played shortstop at South Carolina, and played mainly the middle infield spots earlier in his career. He spent some time at third base in 2006. He got a little bit of time in centerfield in 2008. In 2009, he played primarily shortstop at New Britain, but when promoted to Rochester, he played everywhere. He played all three outfield positions. He played three infield positions as well. He mostly played second base and left field, but it appears now that we can officially put Tolleson into the utility player listing. Also worth noting is that his father, Wayne Tolleson, played a utility infielder role for the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees during the 1980s.

Fourth Inning – Why Won’t Washburn’s Name Just Go Away?

Because there is a pretty good chance that he ends up with the Twins, I fear. A couple of front office guys really like him. There is no question that Washburn wants to be with the Twins. The Mets are allegedly out of the running, and the Mariners likely don’t want him back. The Twins are likely competing against nobody. I can totally see him signing a low-base, high-incentive contract. The reality is that you can never have enough pitching. The Twins have nine options for five rotation spots already, and in reality, they have five options for just one rotation spot, so I just question the need for Washburn. But I know a couple of people (that matter) really think he can bring something to the team.

Like I said, I will be back around noon with the final 5 innings, including links to other Twins blogs and the unveiling of the lineup for tonight’s SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast. I think you’ll like the guest list.

If you have any thoughts on the topics we’ve covered in the first four innings, let me know. Leave you comments here.

Twins Fest – Day 3

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Another year of Twins Fest is now complete, but what a weekend it was. I know, not everyone enjoys it in the same way I do, but I think it’s a great event. Exhausting, but fun. You saw my thoughts from Day 1 and a brief look into Day 2, but here are my notes from the final day of Twins Fest. (by the way, have I mentioned yet that the Minnesota Twins 2010 Prospect Handbook is now available for pre-order. Just curious.)

• Saturday was a long day, but it was really fun. I started writing last night’s update, and completely fell asleep early. It was probably a good thing because the plan for Sunday involved getting up really early to get to an early church service so that we could go back to Twins Fest for a reasonable amount of time.  
• I was able to meet several more bloggers on Sunday. It’s always fun to catch up with Marty Andrade to see what he’s collecting, and because he is hilarious. I’m thinking a career in stand-up should be part of his future. I saw Brandon Warne, who writes the blog 10 Scoreless for a couple of minutes. Andrew Bryz-Gornia came up and said hello. He started the blog Off the Mark. Parker Hageman of Over the Baggy was also there for awhile in the morning.
• The Photo Sessions were something that I had never really done in the past, but this year, it ends up that it is a very cool thing. On Friday night, my daughter and I took a picture with Jeff Manship. She got her picture taken with Aaron Hicks and Kyle Gibson. Then on Sunday, she got her picture taken four more times. First, she had her picture taken with Jesse Crain. You can tell he’s a dad because he got down on the floor with her and talked to her and let her wear a balloon hat that had been given to him. Soon after, she had her picture taken with Jose Morales. She was funny with him, making him laugh. He wanted to lift her up on the chair, but with his surgically repaired wrist, someone helped with that. The picture is great. Later, we were surprised to see the line for Jason Kubel was getting short, so she got in line and got a really good picture with him. Kubel is one of five players that she knows about by name, so she was really excited about that. Kubel is also a dad as he was very nice, picked her up and held her really nicely. Then, a little later, she and my sister were able to get their picture taken with Hall of Famer Rod Carew. Of course, the picture she was most excited about, again, was to get her picture taken with TC Bear.
• She also had a lot of fun in the family area. She took some swings in the batting cage off of a lefty who plays for the Gophers baseball team. She spent time talking to some of the Gophers women’s softball players and showing them how to hit home runs! Of course, she also told the Gophers baseball players that as well. She was able to throw some pitches and measure how fast she threw on a radar gun. She must have been throwing so hard that the radar gun couldn’t even register it! Ha!
• Of course, I spoke to several people confidentially, but I did spend a little time talking with a couple of players. Joe Benson is definitely one of the good guys. I had met him a couple of years ago, and he looks bigger and stronger. You can see why people are so excited about his potential. I also got the opportunity to talk to David Bromberg. He’s a good guy. He started naming off some of the players that he is working out with this offseason, and it includes several big leaguers. Those types of contacts will only help him learn what it is like and what it takes to get to the big leagues.
• I got the opportunity to spend a little time talking with Joe Christensen again. There is a guy that is legitimately a great guy.
• Francisco Liriano seriously looks like he’s ready for a big comeback year. Reports from the Dominican were that he had lost weight and looked stronger. I would say that up-close those reports appear to be close.

  General Twins Fest Thoughts

Three full days of Twins Fest is a lot to take in, but as I have stated over and over, it’s a great event. It was cold in late January in the Twin Cities, teens for the highs. But inside the climate-controlled atmosphere of the Metrodome, it was very comfortable. In fact, on Saturday, it was flat-out warm! The Dome was absolutely packed all day on Saturday. Lines were longer than I have ever seen before. People were talking, talking baseball. It was just a lot of fun to be there. I had so many people come up to talk to me and ask me questions.

What’s going on with Joe Mauer? For obvious reasons, this was the question most asked. Obviously I don’t have any insight, but all indications are that Twins fans have little to worry about. It sounds like it’s just a matter of time, and my opinion is that it will happen shortly before the beginning of spring training. But then again, I’m the guy who had been saying January 29^th for four months, and now the calendar reads February.

At SethSpeaks.net, there is a focus on the minor leagues. Now, I don’t think it’s fair to say that the length of lines in the minor league line at Twins Fest is any kind of indicator of future performance. However, in my opinion, the length of the minor league lines does strongly correspond to the improvement in talent throughout the Twins minor league system the last couple of years. Aaron Hicks (#1 SethSpeaks.net Prospect Ranking), Ben Revere (#6) and Kyle Gibson (#5) were certainly the headliners. However, the minor league players also included top prospects like David Bromberg (#8), Rene Tosoni (#9), Joe Benson (#12), BJ Hermsen (#13), Chris Parmelee (#14), Carlos Gutierrez (#15), Alex Burnett (#18), Trevor Plouffe (#21), Anthony Slama (#23). My #16 prospect, Jeff Manship, has big league service time, so he was signing in the non-free lines.

It was very cool seeing other baseball greats there, including Bob Feller, Ferguson Jenkins, Rollie Fingers, Vida Blue, Frank Howard and more.

In all, it was a great, three-day weekend for me at Twins Fest. I had a lot of fun, met a lot of people. Now, I don’t know if going all three days is necessary, however, I definitely think that going at least once is something all Twins fans should do.

Were you at Twins Fest? If so, leave your observations or stories in the Comments. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me or leave them in the Comments section.