Twins Chances

[ce1]

Honestly? I'd rather have Molina (or, in the Twins' case, Mijares) catching and Mauer out in the field, which seems to be the long term plan if Mauer sticks with the Twins. Mauer is an anomaly right now in the fact that he's a batting champion while catching. But the longer the Twins keep him behind the plate, the quicker his batting skills are going to degrade. Mauer's greatest asset is what he does AT the plate, not BEHIND it.

Which would you rather have catching? Mauer is a catcher.

As near as i see it, his batting skills are doing the opposite of deteriorating. If they keep deteriorating the way they are now, he'll be batting .400 next year.

He doesn't have Molina's arm, but he's still in the top 20% of defensive catchers in the league. He handles the pitchers well, calls a great game, and is a outstanding hitter at a traditional black hole spot. That allows you to put another outstanding hitter on the field at, say 3rd base, rather than move Mauer there and put some .220 weak-hitting moron behind the plate.

Give me an .400+OBS, 1.000+ OPS player in the catching position, and you'll see an average team contend every season. Like this Twins team.

 

[jtd9046]

Not surprising about Mauer. Although I'm not sure that you lose a lot DHing Mauer and having that other catcher (jose something) catch since he has been DHing lately anyway.

Agreed. Having Mauer behind the plate gives flexibility in the DH spot, and as you saw in the first game is key in the late innings. With Morales behind the plate, they would be limited to Redmond in a pinch hit or pinch run situation with the DH.

 

[ce1]

Not surprising about Mauer. Although I'm not sure that you lose a lot DHing Mauer and having that other catcher (jose something) catch since he has been DHing lately anyway.

Jose Morales is a weak defensive catcher, but a great hitter. With a rookie Duensing on the mound, i'd rather have Mauer behind the plate.

 

[jsb]

Agreed. Having Mauer behind the plate gives flexibility in the DH spot, and as you saw in the first game is key in the late innings. With Morales behind the plate, they would be limited to Redmond in a pinch hit or pinch run situation with the DH.

Good point. I just assumed that Morales would DH tonight, but he is not in the lineup. Kubel is DH and Gomez is playing the field.

One move by Gardy that worked out is Span made a catch in one of the corners in the bottom of the 9th that Kubel would never have made (Span moved from center and Gomez was in center after running for Kubel).

 

[jdoggivjc]

As near as i see it, his batting skills are doing the opposite of deteriorating. If they keep deteroriating the way they are now, he'll be batting .400 next year.

That's.... special. :nah:

Mauer's still young yet. It's still fairly easy for him to shake off the effects of the abuse a catcher takes crouching behind the plate. It's also much easier for him to learn a new position now. What happens in 5 years when Mauer's then over 30 and his knees have about 750 or so more games of abuse on them? There's no way in hell he's batting .325, much less .400, 5 years from now if he's still behind the plate. And like I said, Mauer's most valuable asset is his bat, not his catcher's glove. I'd rather get him out from behind the plate while his bat is still good instead of waiting until the abuse his body gets from playing catcher degrades his skills and then deciding it's time to pull him from behind the plate.

 

[ce1]

That's.... special. :nah:

Yeah, not nearly as clever as i thought it was reading it second-time around.

Mauer's still young yet. It's still fairly easy for him to shake off the effects of the abuse a catcher takes crouching behind the plate. It's also much easier for him to learn a new position now. What happens in 5 years when Mauer's then over 30 and his knees have about 750 or so more games of abuse on them? There's no way in hell he's batting .325, much less .400, 5 years from now if he's still behind the plate. And like I said, Mauer's most valuable asset is his bat, not his catcher's glove. I'd rather get him out from behind the plate while his bat is still good instead of waiting until the abuse his body gets from playing catcher degrades his skills and then deciding it's time to pull him from behind the plate.

Guess we'll have to wait and see. But i'd disagree that he won't be hitting .325 five years from now, and still be catching. He might be playing less days, but i think he'll average .325+ for the rest of his career, no matter what position he plays. Including catcher.

 

[jtd9046]

Game 2 lineups... Duensing vs. Verlander. Tigers are loaded up tonight with right handed hitting lineup. Interesting to see Gomez get a start. I like it, let's play some tough defense tonight and cause some trouble on the bases for their ace.

Minnesota Twins
1. Denard Span, RF
2. Orlando Cabrera, SS
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Jason Kubel, DH
5. Michael Cuddyer, 1B
6. Delmon Young, LF
7. Carlos Gomez, CF
8. Matt Tolbert, 3B
9. Nick Punto, 2B

Detroit Tigers
1. Ryan Raburn, LF
2. Placido Polanco, 2B
3. Magglio Ordonez, RF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Marcus Thames, DH
6. Brandon Inge, 3B
7. Curtis Granderson, CF
8. Gerald Laird, C
9. Adam Everett, SS

 

[Dormeezy]

Can't wait to catch a quick power nap and head back down to the ballpark tonight!

I am extremely jealous of you right now. :skeptical:

 

[Dryburn]

Just a note........in 3 starts this year, Verlander is 0 and 2 against the Twins, with a 5.49 ERA. He has one no-decision. Two of the games were in Minnesota. He lost to the Twins 11-0 August 8th in Detroit. Span (.438), Mauer (.394), Young (.333) and Kubel (.318) hit him the best.

As for Duensing....He has started against them once (in Minnesota, and is 1-0). They are hitting .167 off him, and he has a 0.61 ERA against them.

 

[hurdleisu24]

According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 16-year-old shortstop Miguel Angel Sano has agreed to terms with the Twins.

Sano, a highly touted prospect out of the Dominican Republic, will be handed a $3.15 million signing bonus. He was pursued heavily by the Pirates and Orioles, among other teams, but questions about his age and identification caused a stir around the league. An investigation came back inconclusive, but that obviously didn't scare away Minnesota management. The deal is pending a physical and Sano's ability to obtain a work visa

I know this has nothing to do with the Twins chances this year but this is nice to see the Twins spend a little money

 

[Steve]

According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 16-year-old shortstop Miguel Angel Sano has agreed to terms with the Twins.

Sano, a highly touted prospect out of the Dominican Republic, will be handed a $3.15 million signing bonus. He was pursued heavily by the Pirates and Orioles, among other teams, but questions about his age and identification caused a stir around the league. An investigation came back inconclusive, but that obviously didn't scare away Minnesota management. The deal is pending a physical and Sano's ability to obtain a work visa

I know this has nothing to do with the Twins chances this year but this is nice to see the Twins spend a little money

The Twins have another exciting 16-year-old prospect in the organization. Max Lepler-Kozycki, an outfielder from Germany has impressed a number of scouts and team officials with his sweet looking swing. He's a big kid who is said to have benefited from some of the drills that his professional ballet parents exposed him to as he was growing up.

 

[Jonecy]

Well, I know it's not over until it's over - especially in the AL Central, but that loss tonight really hurt & it doesn't look good. :sad: I just hope they at least end the season with a W - especially it being the last game ever in the MetroDome.

 

[06Panther]

I follow the Twins, Braves, and Cubs. And all of them are big fat losers this year.

 

[jdoggivjc]

Well, it's win or go home time...