Where Are We Now?

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Alright, it’s late on Wednesday night and I’m just getting home for the first time since Saturday morning. Quite a bit has happened while I was away, and I was able to blog a few times, but I still feel like I’m way behind even though with the All-Star break for the Major Leaguers, AAA and AA have been going on, so I haven’t been missing much. Getting back so late, and with the Twins 2^nd half not starting until Friday, I am going to wait a day to post my thoughts on some Twins awards for the first half. Let’s see, what has happens? Where are we?

• You may have heard, on Monday, TwinsCentric 2009 July Trade Deadline Primer released, and of course, John, Nick, Parker and I thank you all for your support of that venture, but also just for coming to our sites every day and either just reading or even participating. One of my favorite things about blogging is the interaction with other fans whether you agree or disagree. With the release of the Trade Deadline Primer, there are over 30,000 words that we can all disagree on. Fun! There are still two weeks before the deadline, and for some reason, I truly believe that the Twins will do something, and something of significance. I am in agreement with those who believe that if the Twins do nothing, they will stay right around .500 and likely finish in 3^rd (if not 4^th) place in the division.
• If you want to read a little unbiased opinion of the Trade Deadline Primer, fellow Star Tribune Your Voices blogger Doogie Wolfson wrote a review last night. Also yesterday, Aaron Gleeman blogged about the book. Thank you to both of them.
• Let’s see… Alexi Casilla was promoted after the game on Sunday when Matt Tolbert was sent down. Just yesterday, the Twins sent Jose Morales back to Rochester to bring up a pitcher. The choice was Kevin Mulvey, a starter. Although I was initially surprised somewhat, it isn’t hard to understand. Jesse Crain and Juan Morillo are still walking too many. Rob Delaney has experienced some bumps in Rochester, and Anthony Slama still has not seen AAA. I am very curious how this bullpen will play out, or what this move really signals, if anything.
• The bigger question I have is who will be starting for the Red Wings now that their top three pitchers (Mulvey, Anthony Swarzak and Brian Duensing) are all with the Twins. Jeff Manship, who has been in Rochester for less than a month, is probably the team’s ace. If pitchers are promoted from AA (Say… Matt Fox, Ryan Mullins or Cole Devries), then who moves up to AA? If Mike McCardell, Tyler Robertson or David Bromberg get moved up from Ft. Myers to New Britain, then who moves up from Beloit? It could be interesting.
• And with the promotion of Steve Singleton from Ft. Myers to New Britain on Tuesday, there are other questions. One would have to think that there is a chance that Brian Dinkelman could be promoted to Rochester now that the AA All-Star game is complete so that they both can get regular at bats. However, how do you allot playing time in the middle infield in Rochester if you’ve got Dinkelman along with Trevor Plouffe, Steve Tolleson, Matt Macri and now Matt Tolbert? Dinkelman and Tolleson have both played a little bit of LF, so that’s possible. It will certainly be interesting.
• Back to the trade deadline stuff, I’m normally one to trust the Twins minor leagues system and I still very much believe in the farm system’s depth. But again, I truly believe that a move is needed this year if they truly want to compete. That is the opinion that I have generally heard. But Travis Aune takes a little different perspective, one that I normally have had in the past. I encourage you to read his thoughts.
• Is it too early to start thinking about which six Twins minor leaguers the Twins will send to the Arizona Fall League? With the promotion of Singleton to AA, he certainly becomes an option. I spent some car time today thinking about this very topic. Typically the Twins haven’t sent a player there in back to back years. Last year, they sent Jeff Manship, Anthony Slama, Rob Delaney, Tim Lahey, Danny Valencia, Dustin Martin and Steve Tolleson. If that holds true, it becomes quite difficult to select which players would be selected. Another rule is that players from countries with Winter League teams can not participate. If healthy, I am sure the Twins would love to send Wilson Ramos there to get him additional at bats, but he will head back to Venezuela. So here are my guesses, and please feel free to agree or disagree with them. I think the three hitters will be: Rene Tosoni, Steve Singleton and Whit Robbins. If I were to name three pitchers today, I think they might send Michael McCardell (who could yet be promoted to New Britain, or go as a A-ball exception), Cole Devries, and Alex Burnett,  
• Speaking of Alex Burnett, check out the Q&A that Josh Johnson conducted with the Rockcats righty reliever.
• Nick Nelson ranted on the Madness of Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire… hard to disagree with the evaluation!
• At Over the Baggy, Parker looks at Three Signings as part of his First Half Review.   
• I accidentally watched the last few innings of the AAA All-Star game last night. Did You know that former Twin Michael Ryan is still playing? He plays for the New Orleans Zephyrs, the AAA Affiliate of the Florida Marlins. He apparently recently turned 32 years old. He doubles in the 8^th inning.
• Jesse from Twinkie Town investigates which Toronto Blue Jays relievers the Twins might have interest in.
• Finally, be sure to go to www.CoryHepola.com and check out his blog. But be certain to check out his video story on Danny Valencia. Cory has done some really good stories, but this one is right at the top.

Oh, and again, be sure to check back tomorrow when we may be able to let you in on a little information that has been teased here and a couple of other places over the last few days.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Wednesday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – James Beresford, Beloit Snappers

Wednesday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Steve Hirschfeld, Ft. Myers Miracle – Tom Stuifbergen, Elizabethton Twins

ROCHESTER REPORT

Wednesday – Rochester – The AAA All-Star game was played last night in Portland, Oregon. The Twins/Red Wings representative was Justin Huber. He came in to pinch hit for the DH in the 5^th inning and hit a sacrifice fly. He went 0-2 in his next two at bats.  

ROCKCAT RECAP

Wednesday – New Britain – The Rockcats sent five players to the Eastern League All-Star game. Rene Tosoni started and played in CF the whole game. He was 0-4 with a walk. Brian Dinkelman entered the game at 2B and went 1-2. Whit Robbins pinch hit for the DH and went 1-2. Matt Fox pitched a perfect second inning, striking out one. It didn’t go as well for Anthony Slama. He started the ninth and got the first two outs. He gave up a run on a hit, a walk and a hit batter before being replaced.    

MIRACLE MEMOS

Wednesday – Ft. Myers 13, Sarasota 0 – Steve Hirschfeld got plenty of run support early as the Red Wings scored nine runs in the second inning. He didn’t need that much. The righty went the complete game route. He gave up no runs on three hits. He walked just one and struck out just two. He improved to 3-4 and dropped his ERA to 2.17. Ben Revere went 3-5 with a walk and his third triple. Estarlin de Los Santos went 3-6 with his fourth and fifth doubles. Nick Romero and Chris Parmelee were each 2-4. Mark Dolenc went 2-5. Alexander Soto was promoted to the Miracle about a week ago and hit his first home run.     

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Wednesday – Beloit 9, Burlington 3 – Liam Hendriks picked up his first Midwest League win. He gave up just one run on nine hits over 6.2 innings. He walked one and struck out four. Blake Martin gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in 1.1 innings. Matt Williams struck out three of the four batters he faced. James Beresford went 3-5 with his fourth and fifth doubles, and his ninth stolen base. Danny Rams went 2-3 with a walk and his first home run. Angel Morales was 2-3 with his 11^th double and ninth steal. Dominic de La Osa went 2-4 with his seventh double.   

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Wednesday – Elizabethton 4, Danville 2 – Danville is the one team in the Appy League that really gives the E-Twins some struggles, so it is good to see this win. Tom Stuifbergen led the way and improved to 3-0. The Dutch righty went all nine innings. He gave up two runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out seven. Of the 20 outs that he got on balls in play, 18 of them were ground balls. Derek McCallum went 2-4. Josmil Pinto was 2-4 with his fifth double and two RBI.

GCL TWINS THOUGHTS

Wednesday –GCL Twins 3, GCL Reds 2 – BJ Hermsen improved to 3-1 with a 1.54 ERA after giving up just one run on three hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out five. Andrei Lobonov struck out two in two scoreless innings, reducing his ERA to 0.96. Dakota Watts picked up his fourth save. He struck out three but gave up an unearned run in the ninth inning. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-4 with his first home run and three RBI.

Please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave your questions or comments here.

Podcasts, Drafts and Notes

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Last night was a busy one. After getting home from work, I had to do several things with my computer to try to make it work better. At 7:30, I participated in my third fantasy baseball draft of the year. At 9:00, I still had eight more picks to make, but the SethSpeaks.net Weekly Twins Podcast was set to begin. So, for awhile there, I was doing both things. So that is why today’s posting may be a little shorter than normal.

·         Of course, if you missed it during the day yesterday, I posted my thoughts on the Twins most recent round of cuts.

·         If you weren’t able to listen last night, please be sure to listen to this week’s SethSpeaks.net Weekly Twins podcast. Despite a few minutes worth of technical difficulties, the show was successful. The first guest was Twins pitching prospect Dan Osterbrock. He was followed by the Twins beat writer for TwinsBaseball.com, Kelly Thesier, who happens to be rooting strongly for one of the Final Four teams. And finally, we ended the show with Aaron Gleeman. Now I have to tell you that after about ten minutes of speaking with Dan Osterbrock, I had some technical difficulties. Not exactly certain what happened. But you will definitely be able to tell when it goes bad, and for the following six minutes, you hear a lot of incoherent rumbling, until I finally hung up and started over. But Dan was gracious enough to stick around and answer another question or two and the rest of the show seemingly went just fine.  

 

·         Over at Baseball Digest, our Twins writers continued our predictions of the major baseball awards. The series continued today with our predictions for the Rookie of the Year Awards.

·         Over the Baggy gives us a much more in-depth look at Drew Butera.

·         TwinsMVB was down in Ft. Myers, and this is one of the coolest things ever. I need some of these for my site!

·         The Baseball Savant provide the last word on the White Sox, and I agree!!

·         Phil Miller wrote an interesting article on Craig Breslow, or at least a former college teammate and friend of his at Yale. Matt McCarthy played at Yale before spending one season in the Angels’ minor league system. He kept a journal during that season and recently wrote a book called “Odd Man Out: A Year on the Mound with a Minor League Misfit” in which he reportedly told a lot of things that maybe shouldn’t be let out of the clubhouse, or some that may not have even been true. If nothing else, now I want to read the book. Miller also shared more in his blog Twins Now.

·         I’m not sure if you noticed, but I have now dropped the price of the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook – 2009, for both the hardcopy and the e-book.  

 

Any other Twins thoughts as the season approaches? Feel free to Comment here.

 

FANTASY DRAFT #3

Again, last night I participated in my third fantasy baseball draft of the spring. It is a ten team, 5×5 roto league. I have another fantasy baseball draft tonight (BB Digest Expert League) and another on Thursday evening. I believe that my final draft will be on Sunday afternoon.  Here are my draft picks. I had the #1 overall pick, which of course meant that I didn’t draft again until #20 (and then 21, and so on).

 

1.)    Hanley Ramirez – SS – Florida Marlins

2.)    CC Sabathia – SP – New York Yankees

3.)    Carlos Quentin – OF – Chicago White Sox

4.)    Jason Bay – OF – Boston Red Sox

5.)    Kevin Youklis – 1B – Boston Red Sox

6.)    Daisuke Matsuzaka – SP – Boston Red Sox

7.)    Geovany Soto – C – Chicago Cubs

8.)    Jon Lester – SP – Boston Red Sox

9.)    Francisco Liriano – SP – Minnesota Twins

10.)                         Yovani Gallardo – SP – Milwaukee Brewers

11.)                         Jay Bruce – OF – Cincinnati Reds

12.)                         Kevin Slowey – SP – Minnesota Twins

13.)                         Matt Weiters – C – Baltimore Orioles

14.)                         Alex Gordon – 3B – Kansas City Royals

15.)                         Kevin Gregg – RP – Chicago Cubs

16.)                         Jason Motte – RP – St. Louis Cardinals

17.)                         Fausto Carmona – SP – Cleveland Indians

18.)                         Jason Kubel – OF – Minnesota Twins

19.)                         David Price – SP/RP – Tampa Bay Rays

20.)                         Howie Kendrick – 2B – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

21.)                         Billy Butler – 1B – Kansas City Royals

22.)                         Yunel Escobar – SS – Atlanta Braves

23.)                         Tommy Hanson – SP – Atlanta Braves

24.)                         Jed Lowrie – SS – Boston Red Sox

25.)                         Michael Cuddyer – OF – Minnesota Twins

26.)                         Chris Getz – 2B – Chicago White Sox

Weekly Twins Podcast at 9:00 Tonight!

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Tonight is going to be yet another busy night for me. I have yet another fantasy baseball draft which starts at 7:30. I don’t know where we will be in the draft at 9:00, but I will be starting my Weekly SethSpeaks.net Minnesota Twins Podcast at that time. Be sure to tune in if you are able to. The chat room will be open for your questions, and the guest list is full, and I think pretty impressive. Here is the schedule for the show:

·         9:00-9:05 – Seth Introduction

·         9:05-9:20 – Dan Osterbrock, LH Pitching Prospect

·         9:20-9:38 – Kelly Thesier, TwinsBaseball.com

·         9:40-9:57 – Aaron Gleeman, aarongleeman.com

 

That should be a fun show, so I am looking forward to it. Please listen live if you are able, but if not, be sure to go there later and listen in. I’d love to hear your feedback!

 

OTHER NOTES

 

·         Over at Baseball Digest, our Twins writers continued our predictions of the major baseball awards. The series continued today with our predictions for the Cy Young Awards.

·         Nick Nelson previewed each of the American League teams and included a player to watch on each team.

·         Pat Neshek has remained quite busy in updating his blog, including some very impressive autographs received.

·         Josh Johnson took a look at where the four outfielders stand today.

 

We should be hearing about those final roster cuts and decisions within a day or two. Should be interesting! Any other Twins thoughts as the season approaches? Feel free to Comment here.

Prospect Watch: The Vote

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Earlier today, I asked you to tell me what shows you watch on TV when there isn’t baseball available to watch. Thanks for the responses Now I am going to ask for your help again. However, this is something that you have helped me with before. For those of you who have been around SethSpeaks.net for awhile, you know of The Prospect Watch. Each year, I like to highlight the performances and statistics of some of the Twins top prospects. The last couple of years, I have asked you to help me determine who we will follow. So again, I would like you to vote for up to six Twins prospects that you most want to see included in the Twins Prospect Watch. The six players with the most votes will start the season in the Prospect Watch.

 

So pull out your Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook, check out my Top 50 Twins Prospect rankings, check out Aaron Gleeman’s top Twins Prospect review, or Josh Johnson’s Top 50 Twins prospects. The only criteria is that the player no longer have Rookie eligibility.

 

Pretty simple really… I will take your votes through Friday at 6:00 p.m. central, and over the weekend I will post the results. Just e-mail me your picks (again, up to Twins prospects).

Spring Stream

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

 

 

 

Good morning, everyone! Hopefully everyone had a chance to listen to and/or downloaded the Tuesday night SethSpeaks.net Minnesota Twins podcast which featured Phil Miller, Nick Nelson and John Bonnes. If you haven’t, be sure to do so if you would like.

 

 

Before getting too far, I would like to mention that there will be a SethSpeaks.net Twins Live Chat tonight. Be sure to check back later this morning for the time and details of the chat.

 

For today, I just have several Twins-related thoughts that I would like to share as well as some links to other articles for you to read. It is kind of a stream of consciousness blog, so excuse the informality! And have a great day!

 

·         First things first, I want to thank Aaron Gleeman for the kind words he said about me and this blog in his posting today on the Twins-related blogs that he reads. As you know, I started this site in May of 2003, in part, because of Aaron and The Twins Geek, John Bonnes. At the time, they were probably the only Twins bloggers, and they’re both still going very strong.

·         You will also want to check out Aaron’s Live Chat from yesterday afternoon. Maybe it’ll give you some ideas of possible questions to ask me tonight.

·         LaVelle was the first to report that, as I expected, Bobby Korecky was the player that the Twins took off of their 40 man roster to make room for Luis Ayala. Korecky was claimed by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The D-Backs must just watch for the Twins to make players available. Remember that they were the team that similarly claimed pitcher JD Durbin when the Twins took him off of their 40 man roster. They were the team that claimed Alex Romero when the Twins chose to make him available. Also, when OF Trent Oeltjen became a six year minor league free agent a little over a year ago, the Snakes signed him as well. It would appear that Arizona, despite a rotation that boasts Brandon Webb and Dan Haren may have plenty of openings in 2009. It might be a good opportunity for Korecky to spend a little big of time in the big leagues. Although the former Michigan Wolverine was not blessed with the prototypical size of a big league pitcher, he had a toughness and confidence that helped him succeed. He was very hittable, but he also ‘got the job done’ a lot! Although he got only limited time with the Minnesota Twins, Korecky has been a very valuable part of the Twins organization since he was acquired with Carlos Silva and Nick Punto after the 2003 season in the Eric Milton trade. He has been a minor league closer throughout that time, with the exception of the 2005 season when he had Tommy John surgery. It was the easy choice to take Korecky off of the 40 man roster to make room for Ayala. But I’m certain that it wasn’t an easy thing for many on the Twins roster as, at 29, he likely played with a majority of the players. That’s the human element of the long baseball season that we too often forget.

·         With Joe Mauer’s kidney surgery and recovery taking him out of early activities this spring, the team needed another catcher to catch bullpen sessions. Toby Gardenhire was down there preparing for minor league camp, so he was asked to officially join big league camp as a catcher. For the most part in his minor league career, he has been a middle infielder, but over the last couple of seasons, in an attempt to make himself more versatile and more valuable, he has occasionally donned the catching gear and caught bullpens. With so many pitchers in camp, all needing to throw, having plenty of catchers around only makes sense. What is strange to me is that there are actually Twins fans who are offended by this, by the manager’s son being brought in to camp. I don’t see the big deal… he is the team’s #8 catcher at big league camp. I don’t think we have to worry about him claiming a big league roster spot out of camp. He is catching bullpens. Who cares? If they would have had Tommy Watkins come in to do the same thing, would it matter?

·         I heard today that FSN’s Telly Hughes will not be working Twins games in 2009. Instead, he will be doing the same thing for FSN but for Milwaukee Brewers games. Good luck… Brewers fans!

·         Am I the only one that simply wants the Joe Crede situation to go away? I think I have been pretty consistent throughout the offseason on my stance on the 3B situation. I’m fine with improving the position if we believe it will be a significant improvement. Yes, I am comfortable with a Brendan Harris/Brian Buscher platoon, although I would much prefer Brendan Harris just run with the job! Adrian Beltre? Significant improvement, but I wouldn’t trade what the Mariners are asking for him. Garrett Atkins? No thanks. Casey Blake? Not a big leap forward. Mark Derosa? He won’t even play 3B for Cleveland, and I prefer Brendan Harris anyway. Ty Wigginton? No thank you. Joe Crede? I do like his power. He was an All Star in 2008 after hitting a bunch of first half home runs. If I believed that he could play even 120 games in 2009, I would be OK with the Twins signing him. I do think he would be a very slight improvement offensively and a significant improvement defensively. But we are also talking about a guy who has missed over half of his team’s games the past two seasons, a guy who has had two major back surgeries in the last year and a half (one of which didn’t work for very long, and the other which he is just getting back from). If he would be willing to sign a one year deal worth $2.5 million, I would be fine with signing him. I would even be happy to offer an additional $2.5 million for getting 450 plate appearances in 2009. I’d be willing to add another million dollars if he reaches 550 plate appearances. And another million dollars for 650 plate appearances. But I really don’t think that I would do any more than that. And again, I just want it over, and I imagine the Twins players, coaches and beat writers are thinking the same thing!

·         I had read that the Twins will have as many as ten players eligible for arbitration following the 2009 season, but I hadn’t spent much time really thinking about what the would mean. Which players would be eligible? And secondly, I get so tired of people whining about the Twins payroll when in reality, it is completely a function of having so many pre-arbitration-eligible players on their roster. So here is a quick list at which players will probably be arbitration-eligible at this time next year. In parentheses, you will see an estimate of what that player would potentially make in arbitration for 2009 if they perform similarly as they did in 2008. Please remember that most of these players are going to make less than $500,000 in 2008.

1.      Scott Baker ($2.8 million)

2.      Francisco Liriano ($2.4 million)

3.      Pat Neshek ($1.0 million)

4.      Brendan Harris ($1.5 million)

5.      Boof Bonser ($1.5 million)

6.      Jesse Crain ($2.5 million)

7.      Delmon Young ($2.2 million)

8.      Matt Guerrier ($2.0 million)

And these players will likely be Super-2 arbitration-eligible in 2009:

·         Carlos Gomez ($1.8 million)

·         Glen Perkins ($1.6 million)

Of course, we also have to remember that some of these players may have breakout years, and if so, those numbers could go up. If these numbers would be at all accurate, there is an extra $15 million in salary without making any roster changes. Add to that the increases due to the likes of Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Joe Nathan, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel, and you can see how quickly a payroll can increase over the next couple of seasons when they enter Target Field.

·         If you check out the Twins Geek articles the last couple of days, he has asked a few questions related to Delmon Young and his ‘split’ contract. As he points out, I was able to verify that Young is indeed out of options, so he can not be sent to the minor leagues without being put on waivers. And as much as anyone may not appreciate Delmon Young, I can’t imagine there would be more than a couple of teams in baseball that would not claim him. So, although a split contract is typical for players with less than three years of big league service time, it is probably not terribly necessary to even make mention of the split contract. Again, not a big deal at all, but certainly an interesting learning discussion.

·         KFAN’s Phil Mackey has done a terrific job at his site PMac. He has made his AL Player projections available for download on his site. He wrote a very interesting article on what happened to Glen Perkins late last year. And now he wrote a blog called The Curious Case of Michael Cuddyer which is very interesting.

 

That’s all I’ve got for now. Again, be sure to take in tonight’s SethSpeaks.net Live Minnesota Twins Chat and ask any questions you may have. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me or leave Comments Here.

Tuesday Tidbits – Weekly Twins Podcast Live Tonight at 8:00!!

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

I’m tired. I went to Madagascar at the theater tonight, then watched the end of that Monday Night football game. I’m tired.

BOOK UPDATE – By the way, the book is done! In fact, on Sunday night, I placed the big, bulk order for all of the pre-ordered books and a few more. Thank you to all of those who have paid already. If you haven’t paid yet, please do so. I hope to receive the books within a week to ten days, and as soon as I do, I will send them out. Be sure to check back here on Thursday night. I will provide a link for you to be able to order your own copies of Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook – 2009. Who wants to deal with that crazy day-after-Thanksgiving shopping fiasco? Buying Christmas presents online is the way to go. And the book is the perfect gift for any Twins fan! So again, check back for more details later in the week.

 

PODCAST TONIGHT – I am normally bad about posting the SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast schedule early enough, but not this week. Here is the schedule for tonight’s live show, which starts at 8:00 central time.

8:00–8:05 – Seth Introduction

8:05-8:30 – Tim Dierkes, creator of the all-important MLB Trade Rumors, the best site online for any free agent and trade rumors around the league.

8:30-8:58 – Aaron Gleeman and The Twins Geek, John Bonnes, will join me for the last half hour. That’s a lot of blogging years in one podcast!

I think it sounds like a very good show, if I do say so myself. If you’re able to listen live, please join the Chat Room and ask questions. I will ask our guests.

 

OTHER

·         Baseball America is set to announce its Top Ten Twins Prospects on Tuesday. I have seen the list, and it looks pretty solid, like you would expect from Baseball America. In fact, I really can’t argue with it much. John Manuel did a nice job. It’s not like it is 100% the same as mine, but there aren’t any crazy picks either. Well, there is a highly ranked reliever, and I didn’t have him close to where he was ranked. If not for some limited time with the Twins, I don’t believe this reliever would have been anywhere near the Top 10, but I also understand his inclusion. Nice job, Mr. Manuel.

·         Random Question – Last year, Torii Hunter signed with the Angels on the Eve of Thanksgiving, the Twins/Rays trade happened right after Thanksgiving, Carlos Silva signed in Seattle, and the entire offseason was filled with Johan Santana trade rumors. This year, it is completely different. The Twins just don’t have as many things to deal with, at least not as many high profile issues to address. Third Base, sure, if the right deal presents itself. Shortstop, definitely an area where improvement would be good. The bullpen, not a big deal. Everything else appears pretty set. The Twins have just not been terribly involved even in rumors. There were all kinds of ridiculous Delmon Young rumors early in the offseason that likely had little backing. There were talks of Garrett Atkins, and there is the whole Casey Blake thing. This offseason is so different, and for the most part, that is a good thing. The only negative is that it will make the offseason so much longer. I still think that something major is going to happen, whether it is a surprise free agent signing (I agree that the Twins should not sign any of the type A free agents) or more likely, a semi-big trade. The rumors just have not really been there, at least nothing truly worthy of following. What do you anticipate the rest of the way out?

 

I’m going to keep this short, but again, please stop back from time to time. I anything happens Twins-related, you can read my analysis here. Have a great day!

          

     Any thoughts, please e-mail me, or leave Comments here.

Media Update

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net –

Hey everyone, it’s going to be quick tonight (for me). I have a couple of media related topics to cover and a few notes, the Arizona Fall League update and a little more. If you just checked the site once on Tuesday morning, please scroll down and notice that I added five “Quick Updates” to it. There were a few very good links that you should check out.

 

First of all, there was a new SethSpeaks.net Weekly Twins Podcast tonight from 8-9. I thought it again went very well. It started with a brief introduction before Josh Whetzel, the radio voice of the Rochester Red Wings, called in. We talked a lot about many players on the Red Wings 2008 roster as well as the recent coaching announcements. Josh is a tremendous guest and answers all questions very well. In the second half of the show, Aaron Gleeman called in. Now, you all know Aaron Gleeman from www.AaronGleeman.com, www.RotoWorld.com, www.NBCSports.com, and www.MinnPost.com. He came on and talked about some of his upcoming projects and plans, but we spent the majority of the time talking Twins. We talked about current players, possible free agent signings, some names that have come up in trades, Delmon Young and the OF, Nick Punto and SS and much more. In fact, the live podcast finished at 9:00 and Aaron stayed around for another 15 minutes, so I really appreciate that. I encourage you to listen to the podcast if you have a chance (if you’re at work, be sure to wear your head phones!). If you have any comments on the show, please send me an e-mail or leave some comments.   

 

Secondly, on Wednesday morning at 11:00 central time, I will be on The Fan 710, Bismarck-Mandan’s (ND) ESPN affiliate. I will talk Twins, World Series, football, and other topics on The Jack Michaels Show. It is always a lot of fun to join Jack and talk sports. So, if you are in North Dakota, northern South Dakota, eastern Montana, southern Manitoba or western Minnesota and can tune into am 710, please be sure to do so. If you are out of that range, you can also Listen Live online at The Fan’s site.

 

Third, a quick book update. Last week, I put an order in for one copy of Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook – 2009. It is going to be my edit/proofread copy. I should be receiving it via mail in the next day or two. I will then read through it once and try to make as many corrections as necessary. What is interesting is that when I ordered it just over a week ago, it had about ten fewer pages than it does now. In other words, I have added more content. I have added profiles for approximately ten more Twins prospects, so we are well over 175 profiles now. I plan to take about a week to edit before sending in another revision and getting one more final edit copy. Once I review that, it will become available. If you are looking for an approximate timeline, as of today, I am looking at about a November 17^th release. It will be available at LuLu.com. I think I am also going to order up a bulk shipment for myself to be able to sell individually or to others. Who knows? Maybe there’ll even be a book signing or two! Anyway, just want to keep people updated. I haven’t yet figured out a cost, but you can guess it will be somewhere between $15-18 depending on final costing. I want to make sure it is priced so that people can buy a copy (of ten), but I also have to make sure that it makes sense. This is just a quick update, but I would really like people to send me an e-mail with your thoughts on the book. Would you order a copy? Would you be interested in ordering a dozen? Do you have any advice? I just really want to make sure that I provide a book that people will like and it will give them what they need. As a first book, I don’t expect it to be perfect, but I really want it to be very good and worth people’s time and investment. Thanks!

 

Here are some more thoughts and notes:

·         Over the Baggy takes a look at the Twins prospects that showed the most improvement in terms of Strikeout Rate.

·         Keeping up with the Twinkie Town Prospect list, yesterday Rene Tosoni was voted the #21 prospect with Michael McCardell then running away with the choice for Prospect #22. The vote for Twins Prospect #23 was just posted, so be sure to go there to vote and discuss.

·         If you have a chance this Saturday to take in a charity event, please consider attending “Pups in the Park” which is being put on by Stephanee Neshek and some of the other Twins wives/fiancées. It’s a great organization, so please consider it. (Note, for more information, check out Pat Neshek’s website, where Stephanee gave some more details.)

 

Arizona Fall League Tuesday Update

·         On Tuesday, Phoenix won 12-7 over the Surprise Rafters.

·         Steve Tolleson went 2-5 which dropped his average to .431. I called Tolleson an Unsung Prospect early in the season. I am now to the point where, if the Twins don’t address the SS or 2B position, Tolleson could be given an opportunity in Spring to fight for a big league roster spot. But the Twins value defense, and Tolleson also committed his 6^th error of the short AFL season.

·         Dustin Martin went 1-3 with a walk and two RBI.

·         Danny Valencia was 1-4 with his fourth double and two runs scored.

·         Rob Delaney gave up one run on two hits in the seventh inning. He struck out one.

·         Tim Lahey struck out two in a scoreless 8^th inning. He struck out two.

·         Anthony Slama then came in for the 9^th inning. He got just one out. He gave up two hits and two walks. All four scored (3 earned). He threw 34 pitches and got just one out.      

Any thoughts, please e-mail me, or leave Comments here.